


STRQ Week 2020

by FandomPariah



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Cute, Fluff, Gen, Gratuitous puns, Prequel, STRQ Week 2020, Slow Burn, Writing Challenges, right in the feels, writing prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 58,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28361613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomPariah/pseuds/FandomPariah
Summary: A series of stories written for the STRQ Blast Off/STRQ Week 2020 challenge on Tumblr.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 18





	1. First Impression

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Day One: First Impression**

"Is it everything you expected?" Raven Branwen had something of a gift that allowed her low and husky voice to make even the most mundane and unassuming of sentences sound like vicious insult from which ones' pride would never recover.

It was something her twin had envied for quite some time

"I expected us to be caught by now" Qrow countered, the soft chuckle that escaped him ruining his brief attempt to make his own voice sound more gruff and imposing than it's natural gravelly drawl. The Branwen twins shared a glance wherein it was painfully obvious that Raven was debating casting aspersions about who would likely be to blame if they had been caught but, in a rare display of mercy she decided against it; privately erring on the side of caution as there was no telling who was listening or what tricks these Hunters mights have to spy on their enemies whilst also realising that here, in the Kingdom of Vale with the Branwen Tribe and its' territories so far away that they may as well have been on the shattered moon her twin brother was the only ally she had; the option to simply use her Semblance and run home was not one that was available to her.

They had been sent here by the elders of their tribe; a council of wise but unspeakably ruthless old warriors and bandits to learn the ways of the Hunters so that they could return to the Branwen Tribe with the knowledge of how to kill the Kingdoms' finest defenders; attending Haven Academy would have bee far too risky and so the twins had spent weeks at sea aboard a ferry to the Kingdom of Vale, surrounded by those same Hunters they sought to ingratiate themselves with and then betray and learning first-hand just how capable they were upon seeing all manner of Creatures of Grimm inhabiting the treacherous waters be cut down. Now, finally they were here; an airship of a design vastly different to those that soared over Mistrals' territories had carried them from the docks to their final destination and the two of them simply stared in silence at their prize and the challenge it presented.

Only to be unceremoniously jolted out their silent brooding by a blur of brilliant white motion that almost knocked clear of the airships' ramp as it collided with them.

"OH MY GOSH I'M SORRY!" the blur exclaimed, slowing just enough to become discernable as person; a girl seemingly the twins' own age wrapped in a flowing white cloak whose hood obscured most of her form and allowed them only a brief glance at a single silver eye; the girl sped off ahead of them but not before pausing for just long enough to give Qrow a broad smile and nod of approval

"Nice cape!" she beamed "We're cape buddies!" and with that she was gone

"Cape buddies, ridiculous" Raven sneered disparagingly, putting her gift of mockery to good use as she hook her head; Qrow merely toyed with the offended garment and treated her to a smirk and a wink as he replied

"I think you're just jealous that my Hunter disguise is better than yours" his twin snorted at that, not deeming the insult worthy of a response.

The two of them had indeed come in disguises of sorts, an easy feat considering the outlandish outfits that many Hunters chose to wear. Both twins had been gifted fresh suits of light and practical yet sturdy armour fresh from the tribes' forges, breastplates, gauntlets and pauldrons whose interiors were all etched with tribal glyphs and wards serving as a link to their culture as many of the customary trinkets they had worn previously, including Qrow's many rings and Raven's beads had been hidden from view; both twins had also chose to paint their armour the colour of freshly spilled blood which combined with their tall, gaunt and powerful physiques, pale complexions and crimson eyes gave them undeniably fearsome appearances.

Raven had complemented her armour with thigh-high black boots featuring several heavy buckles and tipped with steel plating and additional armour in the form of side-skirts worn over a short and ruffled skirt, her weapon hanging from one such side-skirt; she was protected from the elements and Vale's slightly cooler climate by a sleeveless jacket, shades of grey with dyed-red fur lining its' inside whilst its' hood was lined with shimmering black and waterproof feathers; her normally untamed hair had been tied into a single long and tight braid which rested over one shoulder and reached to her lowest rib and was decorated with several flowers whose appearance complemented the rest of her attire whilst also being poisonous and having sharp thorns as a precaution, should anybody be foolish enough to touch her hair.

Qrow on the other hand had completed his own Huntsman disguise with simple black pants and practical footwear, though far more belts than were necessary kept said pants aloft and several chains hung from his wast, fingerless black gloves with silver studs adorning the knuckles covered his hands and his hair, the same unruly mess of jet-black spikes as his sisters' had been shorn; an undercut reducing the back and sides to almost nothing whilst what remained had been slicked and pulled back into a high ponytail from which several strands had escaped prompting Qrow to push and sweep them back with needlessly dramatic gestures and where Raven had favoured a jacket Qrow had instead chosen to keep the cold at bay with a deep crimson cape that hung over his right shoulder, its' dramatic billowing form hiding Harbinger stored at his back.

"Yes it's very impressive, now if you don't mind some of us would like to actually attend Beacon Academy this semester" an irritable voice snapped, once again rousing the twins from their own introspection and rather than draw their blades on the one brave of foolish enough to speak to the feared twins of the Branwen Tribe in such a manner both Qrow and Raven chose to keep their composure and stepped aside, allowing a stern-faced blonde girl with shoulder length hair and acid green eyes framed by dark-rimmed glasses to stride between them and as she did so the two of them realised that her luggage hovered in the air and floated lazily behind her in an effortless display of control over a telekinetic Semblance.

"That power" Raven mouthed out slowly as she took in the sight and as she turned to Qrow her brother saw a rare flicker of doubt "Do you wonder if we made a mistake?"

"It was never our choice to make….although I wonder if it was merely a way for the elders to get rid of us" Qrow answered with a bitter laugh at his own expense before adding "She's right though, let's go" with that the twins finally made their way off of the airship ramp with no luggage to their name and began their slow and inevitable walk towards Beacon Academy; flags bearing the axe that was the schools' emblem fluttering in the breeze at the head of a long pathway towards the grand entrance to the first of a series of buildings that were seemingly composed of ornate spires connected by a series of walkways; at their centre a tower larger than the others rising up and displaying its' clockwork interior.

It was beautiful and at the same time it was terrifying.

"No turning back now" Qrow noted, Raven giving him a silent nod as the two of them drew close and prepared to enter the vast double doors

"Let's see what challenges await us"

"What's the worst that could happen right?" a new voice asked cheerily, revealing that they had been joined by a tanned and muscular blonde boy who, judging by his slight disarray had fallen asleep on the airship.

Qrow bit back a retort as the question grated at insecurities that would forever be raw whilst Raven merely gave a lopsided grin; it seemed that their plan was already working.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qrow had been prepared for a great number of ways in which attending Beacon Academy or the preceding initiation process could go badly for him; he had carefully considered the ways the Semblance he had been cursed with could conspire against himself and his sisters' mission or very lives along with the dangers that they would naturally face as they pretended to be Hunters.

He had not been prepared to be at the mercy of a madman like Professor Ozpin.

"YOU SON OF A BIIIIIITCH!" from the perspective of those on Beacon Cliffs Qrow's voice faded comically into the distance whilst for Qrow himself things were a little less humorous as he was fired by what was effectively a siege weapon high into the air in a wide arc that sent him hurtling over the Emerald Forest, whose treetops were beginning to come perilously close as he fell.

Fortunately the bandits and raiders of the Branwen Tribe had experience of a great many things.

There had been more than one instance where the Branwen Tribe had used grappling hooks and sheer tenacity to assault a Mistrali airship carrying cargo whilst it was still in the air and on more than one of those occasions Qrow's grapnel had been ripped free or otherwise failed or he had been denied his escape route for some other reason, leaving the unfortunate teen with no choice but to learn how to survive a fall from great heights. As he descended towards the treeline Harbinger was deployed in its' scythe form and Qrow pulled himself into a roll, the blade of his weapon extending out before him and cleaving through bark and foliage with ease until finally his body struck something solid and he instinctively launched himself forwards; his momentum had not been halted but it was now at least somewhat under his control and he managed to direct himself as he continued downwards, his fall becoming a series of graceful leaps from one branch to the next until he found himself heading towards the moss-covered ground of a sizeable clearing ahead. As he struck the ground Qrow transformed Harbinger into its' sword mode and balanced precariously on the false edge of the blade as it tore through the ground and left a shallow trench in its' wake, from there he shifted its' weapon into its' shotgun form and fired a Gravity Dust shell directly into the floor to launch himself several feet back into the air; with the exception of a few splinters things were going far too well and Qrow did not plan to be a stationary target when the inevitable turn for the worse presented itself.

His paranoia was his undoing however, he landed in a crouch on one knee with his weapon at the ready and his new cape spilling over his shoulders only for the sound of growling to reach his ears and the glowing of hateful red eyes between the trees that surrounded him to reveal that his own needlessly loud actions had drawn the Creatures of Grimm to him.

"Okay fine" he ground out through clenched teeth before launching into action the instant the first of the Grimm stepped into the clearing; with fortune forever against him Qrow Branwen had been forced to hone his skills to a point where they were insurmountable to simple bad luck and that fact was displayed in all its' glory as he crashed into the first of the pack of Beowolves like a whirlwind. He fired another Gravity Dust shell from Harbinger, this time rocketing himself forwards and transforming his weapon back into its' scythe form as he did so; cleaving the Grimm from shoulder to waist in a single fluid motion which he carried into an effortless parry as another monster leapt from the forest to assault him, the flat of his blade striking the things' jaw before he tore it apart with contemptuous ease. From there it was simply a slaughter, Qrow was never still and weaved between his foes, his Semblance extending out to leave the Grimm scrabbling on the ground as they collided with one another or simply tripped over their own paws; snapping and snarling until the curved blade of Harbinger ripped through them and only one Beowolf, an Alpha that stood larger than its' pack-mates remained.

"Come and try then" Qrow taunted, knowing that the beast couldn't understand him but refusing to be denied the privileges of a victory; he brushed loose hair away from his face and readied his weapon as the Grimm let out a bestial, guttural snarl before bounding across the clearing and leaping at him only to expire with a pained yelp as Qrow simply shifted Harbinger into its' sword form and held the blade out ahead of him, leaving the Grimm with no chance to alter its' course before it impaled itself in a fantastic display of misfortune.

"Heh, easy enough" Qrow chuckled, twirling his sword before sheathing it at his back and taking a moment to consider his options. The actual objective of this initiation was secondary to him at that moment, his main concern was the matter of partners and the randomness that would decided them; after mere seconds of consideration Qrow decided that it would be best to return to the treetops and go unseen until Raven landed and used a portal to find him so that the two of them could operate as a team.

Those plans were reduced to dust as something collided with Qrow and sent him crashing to the ground face-first.

"Oh Gods I am so sorry are you okay?" Qrow merely sputtered and brushed dirt from himself as he pulled himself to his feet, his panic at this development causing a voice in his mind which sounded dangerously like the tribal elders to note that if he were to kill this would-be partner here and now there was a good chance that their body would never be found.

And then he saw a flash of white fabric.

"Is this one of the perks of being cape buddies?….How do I revoke my own membership to this club?" Qrow asked in a bored drawl, his mission was to infiltrate not to make friends and even if any reasonable person would argue that the latter would greatly help the former the fact remained that the bandit simply did not know how; friendships with those outside of the tribe were simply not a concept he had prepared himself for and close friendships with his people were rendered difficult by both the general nature of the cut-throats and killers that had raised him and the distance at which others tended to keep him upon learning of his Semblance.

A state of affairs which left Qrow staring in awkward silence at his new partner for far longer than was polite.

She was short, almost laughably so but as the white, hooded cloak that reached almost to the ground was moved aside it became clear that she was no slender waif; the young woman wore a black skirt that reached to her knees with a pair of artistically ripped stockings beneath it along with heavy boots that reached her calves and a black corset-like garment featuring armour plating worked into it worn over a frilly white shirt with sleeves so short that it was barely more than a vest, the corset and her boots were both tied with white lace and the ensemble showed enough skin for Qrow to see that her legs, shoulders and biceps were in fact more muscular and defined than his own. Hair of a crimson so deep that it appeared black towards her scalp reached down to her shoulders and her fringe fell over one eye whilst the glistening, almost shining silver of the other was unmissable; her face was round with cheeks that were perhaps slightly too prominent and kind features which had formed a bright smile until the moment Qrow had spoken, at which point they melted into an annoyed huff

"Don't be a jerk" she said bluntly, the simplicity of the retort and the tone in which it had been given by such an unassuming individual left Qrow faltering, part of him deigning the idea of trading insults with someone who barely reached his elbows utterly beneath him whilst another part of his mind searching for a suitable barb only to find nothing.

The stand-offish and awkward exchange was brought to a close by the sound of heavy footfalls thudding towards them and the sight of trees close by being bent aside.

"Oh crap" the Huntress, whose name Qrow was yet to learn sighed as her shoulders sagged forward in a display of annoyed resignation rather than true fear or concern

"Ursa, not a particularly large one but still dangerous enough" Qrow murmured as he closed his eyes and listened to the footfalls for a moment before readying his weapon

"Really, you can tell from….Oh that's pretty nifty" his new partner noted in a tone that was far too chirpy for the situation as the Ursa itself came lumbering into view on all fours and let out a growl that startled birds from the trees.

"There's no need for us to fight this Grimm" Qrow noted, a lifetime spent having the beliefs that striking quickly and vanishing without a trace were paramount

"No but it'll be fun" his partner answered, something in her tone setting his nerves on edge and the hairs at the back of his neck on end. The Ursa took a single step forwards and the young woman reached into the folds of her cape to produce a weapon that could best be described as a sniper rifle with a large, cylindrical ammo drum slung under its' barrel; the entire weapon being constructed from a metal of the same bright silver as her eyes and covered with glossy black casing that was in turn finished with pristine white detailing.

She fired without hesitation, revealing the weapon to be filled with Ice Dust rounds as one of the Grimm's hind legs was frozen solid and left stuck to the now frost covered ground.

"Say hello to Shatter-Moon" Qrow heard her words and could only watch in open mouthed shock as she transformed the weapon into an over-sized war-hammer, its' ammo drum serving as the head of the weapon which she twirled easily on one had despite it being larger than herself whilst striding confidently towards the immobilised Ursa; the Grimm snapped and thrashed until she closed the remaining distance in a burst of speed and swung up, the head of Shatter-Moon striking the underside of the monsters' jaw and ripping through its' skull entirely with an earth-shattering that caused Qrow's own teeth to rattle in his skull and left the thing's body limp and lifeless before its collapsed and dissipated into formless darkness.

"That….was not what I expected" Qrow finally admitted

"Bet you wanna be friends now" his new partner called back to him in a singsong voice as she walked through the still dispersing Grimm mist "Come on, let's go handle the rest of this initiation it's gonna be awesome"

"I don't really have a choice do I" Qrow noted, still annoyed that misfortune had scuppered his plans to work alongside Raven; though not entirely unsatisfied at the way things had unfolded

"Do you have a name, or shall I just call you 'Cape Buddy'?" Qrow asked with a snort that sounded very much like Raven "I'm Qrow, Qrow Branwen" at this the hammer-wielding Huntress turned and flashed him a smile brighter than her previous beaming grins

"Hi, I'm Summer Rose"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Qrow you amateur, how did you make this look so difficult….Was embarrassing me in front of the other students part of your plan?" Raven demanded to the empty silence as she landed on a tree branch with ease, the leaves surrounding her barely rustling as she moved with expert skill and took up a scouting position.

It was already safe to say that her initiation was going far more smoothly than her brothers'

Qrow had been amongst the first students to be fired into the forest and his screamed and yelled curses directed at the Headmaster had been a source of amusement for many of those who would become the twins' classmates if they survived this exercise; Raven herself however had managed to position herself so that she would have enough time to watch several prospective students be launched and gauge their skills, noting that the blonde with the telekinetic abilities seemed to have a massively unfair advantage as she used her Semblance on what appeared to be a riding crop which she then simply rode like a witch on a broomstick.

Finally Raven had felt the sudden lurch of motion and been sent hurtling through the air though at that point she had been ready and had simply waited until she began to near the trees before grasping the cylindrical sheath of Omen and putting one of its' many features to use; Raven had plans of using the ludicrous amount of resources that Hunters seemed to have at their disposal to fashion several blades of solid Dust crystal to improve the weapon but currently two of its' rotating chambers housed blades connected to retractable cables that had been used in her life as a bandit to pierce the hulls of countless vehicles that she had ambushed, those same blades thudded into the bark of a tree and allowed her to land on her current perch without effort or complication.

Now all that remained was to decide on a plan of action.

The obvious, and immediately appealing solution would be for her to use her Semblance and instantly make her way to Qrow, despite the vicious rivalry, taunting and bickering between them the two were close in the way only twins could be and Raven would be lying if the idea of having her younger, if only by minutes brother close at hand for the duration of their time at Beacon Academy didn't reassure her somewhat even in this unknown and perilous place filled with those they planned to deceive. However Raven found herself forced to turn away from the idea, as comforting as it was upon realising that the notion of the two of them becoming partners in what was intended to be a randomised process despite being launched into entirely different parts of the Emerald Forest with a considerable amount of time between them would almost certainly draw scrutiny that they could ill afford; there was also the possibility that Qrow had already been forced to partner with someone else which Raven couldn't disregard and finally she found herself reasoning that the two of them would learn more about Hunters and thus do a greater service to the Branwen Tribe if they partnered with those who genuinely wished to learn the lessons being taught at the Academy.

The justification sounded like a feeble excuse even to her own ears but Raven resigned herself to it and began the initiation alone.

She ghosted silently through the treetops without any real sense of direction, the wildlife here was so different to that which covered Anima that many of her usual ways of finding her bearings were simply ineffective and with the sun high in the sky she was unable to use the stars to navigate; instead she simply chose a direction and moved in it with the intention of finding either a suitable partner for herself or the location of the relics that Ozpin had instructed them to recover, at which point she would simply take one or all of them and use that bargaining position to dictate who her partner would be. Eventually the a dull, booming impact shook the trees that she moved through and Raven came to a halt, considering for a moment before deciding to head in the direction of the sound and investigate.

It was the blonde who had fallen asleep on the airship.

The young man's tanned and muscular form looked even more powerful now that she could see it action; he was tall and broad-shouldered with shaggy golden locks that fell messily in front of deep blue eyes and he wore an unassuming mix of drab browns and beige that somehow seemed to suit him, a simple pair of tan-coloured, well worn and practical boots with dull steel armour plating around the heel and toe that bore visible scratches and dents, a beige pair of shorts with several pockets lining them and a form-fitting vest of the same colour over which a pale yellow-brown short sleeved shirt hung open and unbuttoned and over the top of that was a vest of a darker shade of brown fitted with so many pockets that it may as well have been a harness of sort sort. The young man's forearms and hands were wrapped in compression bandages and over them were his weapons; a pair of burnished gold gauntlets, heavy and reliable looking things with jagged and sharpened chunks of Dust crystals jutting from specially designed brackets lining the knuckles. Raven saw the collection of Gravity, Fire and Lightning Dust that the young man was using and was forced to change her assessment of him, he had been noticeable for his loudness and exuberance the night before as he sought to make himself the centre of attention with humour that had drawn more groans than laughter and Raven had, in all honesty not been expecting him to survive the initiation based on the limited information at her disposal.

Seeing him in action proved how wrong she had been.

He fought against a notably large and aggressive Deathstalker with speed and skill that she would never have expected, agilely weaving around snapping pincers easily capable of breaking him in half until seemingly growing bored and somersaulting over an incoming attack before driving his fists down onto the chitinous surface of the arachnid monsters' claws and using them as a springboard as the Gravity Dust at his disposal sent him surging forwards and upwards to narrowly avoid the things' poisonous stinger before grabbing it and throwing himself into a spin, using his own vast and unnatural momentum to heave the Deathstalker from the floor and send it crashing through the trunks of several trees. He was seemingly not done however as the moment the teen landed Raven watched him drive the Dust-filled knuckle of his gauntlets together and purposefully shatter the Fire and Lightning Dust crystals which left arc of crackling lighting and white hot flames raging and swirling between his cupped palms before the blonde thrust his arms forward launched a ball of barely contained destructive energies into the splintered and ruined trees where it promptly detonated with a blinding flash and deafening explosion that sent shock-waves through the ground.

"Only you can prevent forest….Nah it only works if it's an Ursa" Raven heard the boy mutter to nobody in particular as he reached into his pockets and blindly hurled Ice Dust into his surroundings as a precaution, informing the bandit perched above him that he was more cautious than he had first appeared and also that he was, for the moment at least blind and deaf. Blood red eyes widened as Raven, who had herself been stunned by the blast detected something that the blonde had not, a faint clicking and buzzing that could only mean one thing.

The Deathstalker still lived.

The now furious monster burst from the pile of debris that it had been buried beneath with enough force to throw its' adversary to the ground where they frantically rummaged through their many pockets in search of a suitable Dust based response only to realise as the enormous monster scuttled closer that it was far too late.

Then it simply died.

"Huh?" the teenage boy mouthed out with a lack of articulation that was understandable given the circumstances as a dark shape landed on the Grimm's back and in a single flash of a blade its' head fell away before it could hope to put its' barbed tail to use. As the Deathstalker collapsed and faded away Raven leapt from the crouch she had landed into a standing position, sheathing Omen's blade with one hand whilst lowering her feather-lined hood with the other to fix him with a lopsided smirk and intent stare

"I'm Raven Branwen and I will be your partner"

"Hello Raven Branwen and I will be your partner, I'm Taiyang Xiao Long but you can call me Tai" Raven blinked in surprise several times, turning the attempt at a joke over in her mind for a moment and letting out an almost pained sigh as she realised the scale of the mistake she had just made.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"When you said you had bad luck I thought you were exaggerating" Summer declared as she rolled aside, narrowly avoiding been grievously injured as the tree behind her was shattered under the force of the blow that struck it.

She and Qrow had been making their way through the Emerald Forest for several hours, Summer's initial suspicion that their goal would be located in the very centre of the Grimm infested wilderness being proven incorrect and some combination of the unfamiliarity of their surroundings and Semblance-fuelled misfortune leaving the two of them utterly lost even as they tried to retrace their steps yet somehow Summer had remained chipper and upbeat through it all; even more impressive was that she had done so without ever making Qrow feel as though she was patronising or condescending to him. Summer Rose was however undeniably far more talkative than the bandit was accustomed to and had plainly never had to work in silence to avid detection, Qrow's comment about being unlucky had been given as a half-truth and he had allowed her to think that it was simple self deprecation rather than the nature of his Semblance.

The talk had ended when his misfortune had presented itself in the form of the largest Grimm they had yet encountered.

The hulking thing was some twisted variation of Geist, the ephemeral wraith using its' haunting presence to infest its' surroundings. It was obvious that lightning had struck a tree at some point in the past and been the cause of a forest fire whose destruction the greenery had steadily reclaimed, this could be discerned by the fact that Grimm's body was made of burned, blackened and blasted trees; a series of gnarled, mismatched and twisted roots formed a series of spider-like limbs leading up to a torso that split at the waist into two separate upper bodies where lightning had struck the left side of the thing sporting the bone coloured mask with a singular eye of the Grimms' true body, tangled vines crept across the reaching branches that formed broad yet skeletal shoulders and into a pair of trees which had been shattered mid-trunk as the Geist took hold of them to form arms wider than its' bisected chest from which taloned hands of pure Grimm tissue extended.

"Have you ever fought one of these before?" Qrow asked, trying to keep his own experience or lack thereof hidden; he was still not entirely certain of how much he could reveal to his partner and a Grimm attack was no excuse to forget himself.

"Nope" Summer answered, popping the P and smiling despite the severity of the situation "But I'm guessing we need to destroy the centre of the body its' wearing; if we go for the arms it'll just grab another one"

"That makes sense" Qrow nodded, readying Harbinger in its' sword form and preparing to cleave the mask from the things' possessed shell; whilst he had not encountered a Geist in person there were members of the Branwen Tribe who had and Summer's perceptive answer seemed to line up with what they had described.

"Okay, I'll buy you an opening; get ready to take it out" Summer instructed, seeing what Qrow intended and taking charge in a way that her new partner had not expected but found that he was not averse to. The two of them braced themselves, sword and hammer held at the ready yet before they could rush forth the Geist revealed that it had more than simple brute force in its' repertoire; its' spidery lower limbs splaying wide as it stretched its' taloned limbs and sent the vines that wrapped around them like sinewy, fleshy whips that ripped gouges into the ground and trees as they struck.

"MOVE!" Qrow called, leaping aside only to be sent tumbling as his foot connected with a protruding rock that he had not seen yet Summer was more prepared than he and leapt into motion, using the flat of Harbinger's blade as a springboard to hurl herself over several of the whips whilst shifting Shatter-Moon into its' rifle form and snapping off several rounds, they were not Dust based however and she was rewarded with the meagre victory of blasting several chunks of scorched bark away from the Grimm's body; tearing a shrieking, haunting wail from the Geist.

Then something that Summer had no frame of reference for happened

"What the heck is that?" she demanded in a tone of utter exasperation, proving that there were indeed limits to her exuberance as reality itself was torn asunder by a swirling, crimson edged wound; Qrow however smiled as he pulled himself to his feet and seized Summer's wrist without thinking

"My sister's Semblance, come on!" before Summer could respond she was pulled into the portal and barely managed to brace herself though she needn't have bothered; she had been prepared for a freezing, suffocating void yet for a brief moment, a mere fraction of a second everything felt warm and comforting.

Then she was left sprawling on a floor littered with rubble and the sound of monstrous avian shrieks filling the air.

"I see my little brother finally made a friend" a low, mocking tone noted and Summer found herself staring up at a tall and fearsome teenage girl with red eyes, black hair that seemed to shimmer and unfairly long legs who could only be partners' twin sister, stood beside her was a burly young man whose friendly features seemed comically out of place all things considered.

The Branwen Twins' reunion was cut short before Qrow could retort as, due to either his own misfortune or the Grimm's own tenacity the Geist reintroduced itself; vine-tendrils bursting through the portal and acting as anchors by which it dragged itself into the ruins that the four teens had found themselves in before Raven could close it.

"What, pray tell is that?" Raven demanded with an arched eyebrow and an utter lack of fear

"Love it when she's feisty" the blonde beside noted, earning himself no reply other than a baleful glare from Qrow whilst Summer replied with equal derision

"Just another friend we made"

Then bladed quills came rushing down and sent the four of them scattering, reminding Summer of the shrieks she had heard

"Okay what's going on here?"

"Raven and I found these ruins and I think this is where the relics we're looking for are, then that giant Nevermore found us….We can't bring it down but Raven said she can get her brother here and he might be able to help"

"Aww so you do care" Qrow sneered, falling silent at the sight of the frosty stare his twin treated him to

"Well I'm sorry we brought our own problems with us" Summer noted

"Don't worry I do that a lot" Qrow snorted before taking stock of the situation and seeing what use he could find for his Semblance; the Geist had been momentarily confused by the change of surroundings though that would soon change whilst overhead a single Nevermore with a wingspan comparable to that of the Kingdoms' flying machines wheeled and screeched as it prepared to unleash a fresh volley of sharpened quills.

Qrow gave a cocky smirk as the answer came to him

"Take cover!" he called out to what he supposed would be his team from now on and rushed towards the Geist as he focused on his Semblance; inflicting as much bad luck on the monster as he could and, likely in response it was at that moment that the Nevermore unleashed another barrage. Qrow leapt aside as the Geist swung a taloned limb and relished its' shrieks of pain as several jagged, midnight black feather sank into the things' arm and torso

Bad luck worked both ways however and Qrow was soon punished for his hubris.

The Geist launched its' vines directly into the air, ensnaring the Nevermore and leaving each of the four would-be Hunters in slack-jawed horror as they watched the monstrous corvid be dragged downwards and subsumed into the mass of darkness.

The Geist began to transform, its' spidery limbs merging and intertwining to form a single pair which sprouted birdlike talons whilst the bulk of the Nevermore served as raw mass to fill the gap in the split torso of the monster; leaving it with a hulking and massive presence and a pair of obsidian wings sprouting from its' shoulders whilst the mask sunk into the body of the Geist and reappeared on a newly formed neck, becoming slightly more sleek and streamlined as it did so with a cruel curved shape about it not unlike a beak.

"I….didn't know they could do that" Taiyang slowly murmured as the winged Geist let out a shrill scream and took to the air.

"And now it's in the air and we're at a disadvantage again" Raven noted coldly

"It might be better if it stays in the air" Qrow noted, a touch of concern creeping into his words "What if there's no limit to how much it can absorb into itself….what if it lands and more Grimm come; I'd rather keep it isolated"

"Come on guys we just need a plan, the situation isn't that….Grimm" Taiyang offered and the twins shared a look that made it clear that both of them were giving serious consideration to stabbing him, before either could reply however the Geist unleashed a volley of quills from its' new wings followed by swooping low and raking its' vines across the desolate ruins; Taiyang and Raven leapt aside and Qrow was taken aback when Summer tackled him to the ground.

"Okay this thing has to go, now" she spat as she leapt to her feet, bracing herself and planting her weapon on the cracked flagstones; Qrow pulled himself from the ground beside her and for a moment the young bandit swore that her eyes had begun to glow, some unseen power crackling behind them until Taiyang spoke and it was gone.

"Okay I think I've got an idea"

"You?" Raven asked in open disbelief

"Raven if you could get up there then you could open a portal to your brother, I'll come through it and take that things' wings out; I've got enough Gravity Dust to make it a really rough landing-"

"And how do I get up there, do you think I can fly?" Raven asked cautiously, not wanting to betray the fact that this idea was not entirely unworkable; fortunately it was Summer who provided an answer

"Its' vines….Could you climb them?" Qrow and Raven shared a knowing glance at that, both of them thinking of a particular raid that they had taken part in and speaking in perfect unison

"Lake Matsu" the two wore matching grins that could only be described as feral at that which left their partners more than a little uncomfortable as they glimpsed something savage and bloodthirsty behind the twins' outward appearances; then the moment ended as the Geist swooped low and unleashed another aerial assault

"Okay now!" Summer called out, brandishing her hammer "Bring it down and I'll make sure it doesn't get back up!" smiling broadly at her sudden, fiery confidence Qrow went rushing out into the open and chased after the Geist until he was close enough to leap into the air and seize one of its' serpentine vines in one hand whilst shifting Harbinger into its' scythe from and thrusting the blade into the ground to forcefully slow the monsters' flight; in retaliation the Geist shrieked in rage as it whipped around and unleashed its' vine and a volley of jagged feathers.

In the same moment Qrow harnessed the full weight of his Semblance.

The vines hurtled towards him, only for the Grimms' own quills to strike them and rip them from the air, jagged points impaling the thrashing limbs and skewering them into the hard ground

"RAVEN NOW!" Qrow yelled and his sister streaked past him in a blur of motion, unsheathing Omen as she ran and leapt onto one of the vines; dozens of possessed and haunted appendages thrust and lunged at her yet her blade flashed out and cleaved through each of them in turn and Raven refused to break her stride until she found herself on the Grimm's back, stabbing downwards so that she could anchor herself between its' shoulders and focused. She could only open a portal to those she cared for and whilst she suspected her inability to create portals for either her own or her brothers' partner would eventually become a complication it was not one she had to deal with at that moment; she formed a portal to Qrow.

Taiyang appeared beside her a moment later

"Say hello to the Long Rex" the blonde growled as he readied his weapons and Raven swore to herself that she would ridicule him properly for working part of his own name into that of his weapon at a more appropriate time; at that moment however she simply focused on keeping the portal open and not being thrown from the still thrashing Geist as Taiyang fitted a fresh batch of Gravity Dust crystals into the brackets across the knuckles of his gauntlets. A moment later he clutched both fists together and delivered a hammer blow that discharged the crystals and sent the winged Geist hurtling downwards at impossible speeds as forces acting around it were warped and distorted, having no time to relish the accomplishment as he felt Raven grab his shoulder and drag him through her portal.

Summer gave only the briefest nod of acknowledgement as Taiyang and Raven reappeared beside her and Qrow and then she was on the move.

She had almost revealed her secret to her new friends far too soon and that had been a foolish mistake borne of stress and desperation but now however things were entirely under control; Shatter-Moon was in its' hammer form and she sprinted out into the open, planting herself beneath the shadow of the falling Grimm and gritting her teeth as she planted herself; her silver eyes met the single, hateful red of the Geist and without hesitation Summer swung upwards.

Reducing the skull of the Geist to splintered fragments and the parts of its' body not made of Grimm tissue to splinters that bounced and ricocheted from the ground around her.

"That….was almost fun" Raven chuckled darkly as she strode out to meet Summer with Taiyang and Qrow at either side of her; Summer merely collapsed Shatter-Moon and tucked it beneath her cloak before doubling over and taking several deep breaths whilst her hands rested on her knees before answering with a bright smile that her friends would soon come to realise was her natural state

"Yeah it was and it looks like you were right about the relics being here" she paused for a moment before adding "So….are we gonna do proper introductions now or back at Beacon?"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was finally time.

The four of them had made it back to the Academy and Qrow and Raven shared fearful, suspicious glances at everything around them, realising that if they were to be discovered as the frauds and hidden enemies that they were then it would be here and now yet the cold sweat that covered them both and the wide eyed panic and white knuckled grip Raven kept on her weapon all went unnoticed, Summer seemed equally unsettled and even Taiyang fell silent as the applause from beyond the heavy black curtain ahead of them began to subside.

They were the last team to be officially formed and had listened intently from behind the curtain surrounded by a steadily diminishing group of their future classmates as Headmaster Professor Ozpin had given a speech to a vocal and approving audience of both students and qualified Hunters who had travelled to the Academy for the occasion that seemed to be both heartfelt and still well practised before he had brought out each group that had passed the initiation process in turn and announced their new team designation and who would be their leader; giving each new team their well-earned debut into the Hunter community.

The previous team, whose applause was still dying down had been dubbed 'Team GOLD' and would henceforth be led by the green-eyed blonde with the telekinetic abilities that the twins had spied the day before named Glynda Goodwitch; amongst her team-mates had been a been a talkative and inquisitive young man with green hair and spectacles named Bartholomew whom the twins had been privately relieved that they would not have to endure for any meaningful amount of time.

All thoughts were pushed from their mind as the teachers' assistant who had ushered the students back here, a man named Port with a truly spectacular moustache peeked his head through the curtains

"Out you come….And don't look so nervous, you did magnificently out there from what I saw" the twins shared looks at that, they had known that they would be under observation whilst in the Emerald Forest of course but the reminder was entirely unwelcome at that moment, before either of them could risk a hushed comment to the other however Qrow felt his knees almost buckle as Taiyang slapped a meaty palm on his shoulder and was glad that the brawny young man who was even stronger that his imposing stature would suggest had at least removed his gauntlets first, he and Raven turned to Taiyang and Summer and saw that the caped Huntress had pulled her hood low over her face but had nonetheless hidden her nerves behind a rictus grin of a smile

"Come on" she breathed out and with that the four of them stepped out to the sound of thunderous applause.

"And finally!" Ozpin's booming and magnified voice silenced any remaining buzz of conversation and sent a jolt of panic through both Qrow and Raven as the man peered over his too-small glasses and regarded them intently, his eyes seeming too bore into their very souls and lay bare every lie and deception that they had told to bring them to this point and yet a moment later his expression was a kind and grandfatherly smile and the sudden change left the two of them even more unnerved than before

"The students who retrieved the White Queen chess piece….and in doing so brought down a particularly nasty Geist that some of our own Professors have had some trouble locating" he punctuated the statement with a soft chuckle and a round of whispers and hushed mutterings spattered with cheers passed through the crowd "Are Qrow Branwen, Raven Branwen, Taiyang Xiao Long and their leader Summer Rose….from this moment forth you will be known as Team STRQ!"

The amphitheatre exploded into deafening cheers that left the twins ears ringing.

"Holy crap, I'm the leader?" Summer squeaked out as she shrunk in on herself, seemingly trying to vanish into the folds of her cape until Taiyang hoisted her up onto his shoulders, displaying his new friend to the world like a trophy whilst the twins simply watching in silent dismay at their partners antics

"Why wouldn't you be?" the blonde demanded "You did great out there"

"You did land the killing blow on the Geist" Qrow noted, telling himself that he was simply happy that the spotlight would not be directed at himself and ignoring the sudden burst of pride and happiness he felt for his new partner

"Exactly" Raven cooed, something in her voice suggesting to Qrow that she sensed something that he did not "I'm sure you'll surprise us all, even yourself"

"Yeah, you're right" Summer beamed, lowering her hood and revealing a genuine smile plastered across her face as she joined in the cheers and exclaimed "We're Team STRQ and we're gonna be the coolest team to ever graduate from Beacon!"  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Author's Notes:

So this is day one of the STRQ Week Blast Off challenge on Tumblr, as you can see the prompt was "First Impressions" and I felt like a Team STRQ Initiation story was too good to pass up on.  
Also, the challenge lasts eight days but I'll only be submitting six stories; I didn't have anything for the free day and I was planning on doing a graduation story for the "Happy ending" prompt to round things off but I just couldn't find an angle for it that I was happy with.  
All of these stories are set in the same universe as each other (The canon until proven otherwise one) but not my other stories.  
Honestly it was nice to have a RWBY story to tell in the canon universe whilst I'm working on stories for other fandoms and I'm still planning out the early stages of the next instalment of the Downward Spiral timeline.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
Tell me I'm wrong about Raven?  
"Use her Semblance and run home" because this might be a prequel but Raven is still Raven.  
Look, I just love the idea of the twins being all brooding and serious and then just getting shunted out of the way because they're just a pair of edgy teenagers….Also, hi Summer.  
No she doesn't have Ruby's Semblance, she was just that hyped.  
Y'know what, I know Qrow and Summer already have a ship-name but they're gonna be "Cape Buddies" in my head forever now.  
Yeah I gave everyone in Team STRQ a different outfit because if Team RWBY get new outfits every couple of volumes then so can they; Qrow and Raven are wearing something very similar to Raven's current armour with some extra touches like the cape and jacket.  
Also undercut and ponytail Qrow being the origin on the dramatic hair sweep he does and Raven with a braid, you're welcome….Raven hiding poisonous flowers and thorns in her hair so nobody touches it; I maintain that Yang gets the hair thing from her.  
Oh I'm sorry you thought Glynda wasn't gonna cameo in this?  
"I wonder if it was merely a way for the elders to get rid of us" I mean it's a valid point? When the tribe sent Qrow away did they actually ever expect him to come back?  
You knew that was Taiyang from the moment he managed to annoy Qrow with one comment.  
Remember this is pre-bird magic Branwen twins, they don't get to cheat their landing strategy; that being said considering how close their territory is to those floating islands in Vol.5 and considering that Mistral had airships even before they settled Mantle (According to World of Remnant) I think it's fair to say that the twins have some experience with landing.  
Yes Qrow's landing strategy has a callback (Or forward in this case) to his fight with Tyrian where he landed perched on his sword.  
Yeah he basically re-enacted the Red Trailer here, because living in the wilderness means that the twins are at a higher skill-level than the average student (See Blake, who passed the entrance exam with ease for example).  
Of course that was how they met….And of course he was an awkward, edgy boi who thought he was too cool (Also, insert "Birdy no!" here).  
Buff Summer, thank you ArtByFuji.  
Shatter-Moon, to play into the moon imagery regarding Summer, sniper rifle because yes and a cartoonishly oversized hammer because the mental image is too fun to ignore.  
Too-cool and aloof Ms Branwen out here like "My baby brother who's five minutes younger than me embarrassed me in front of the cool people and I can't even".  
You know that was Glynda's landing strategy.  
So since Hunters canonically upgrade their weapons over time I decided that the version of Omen we see in the show isn't the version she started with; she hasn't got the Dust blades yet but she does have her own grappling hooks.  
Raven already explaining away her own bullshit, even if it does make sense in this case.  
Since Team STRQ are intended to be the "Team RWBY who failed" and Tai and Raven are the mirrors of Yang and Blake I want you to take Blake choosing Yang as her partner in Vol.1 and compare it to what Raven did here and the reasons she did it for.  
Yes I gave Tai a weapon, we've seen him fight hand to hand but I maintain that it's because he's a teacher and that's for his students' benefit; there's no practical way he could take down Grimm effectively without Dust or weapons….So enjoy Tai with Knuckle "Dust-ers" (I will make that pun in another chapter) that can use Dust-combos to throw energy balls.  
Also yeah he's always dressed like that.  
"Hello Raven Branwen and I will be your partner, I'm Taiyang Xiao Long but you can call me Tai" I'm not sorry, not even slightly.  
I just love the idea of Summer being the first genuinely friendly person with no ulterior motives that Qrow has met and it just blowing his mind.  
Okay I need to promote someone else's story here "War Machines" by the user "Air Force Muffin" if you're not reading that then you should be, it's a Nuts & Dolts role reversal and without spoiling anything his use of the Geist in the Initiation process was an inspiration for this scene and was honestly the thing that made me like the idea of the Geist in general.  
Of course it wasn't gonna get taken out by just Summer and Qrow.  
Here's the thing Raven's Semblance would be a cop-out in any other scenario but the fact is with Qrow's Semblance always in play it basically becomes an "Out the frying pan and into the fire" situation.  
Raven's first few lines here were great, in my head she has perfect comedic timing.  
Also "Unfairly long legs" is both thirsty and short people problems.  
"Love it when she's feisty" did that sting?  
Yes this is obviously intended to evoke the RWBY and JNPR initiation where they fought the Deathstalker and their own giant Nevermore.  
"Don't worry I do that a lot" Oof.  
Qrow channelled his inner Ken Watanabe "Let them fight"  
The Geist ate the Nevermore, what's that? The imagery of a corvid being pulled deeper down into some sort of darkness, foreshadowing? Symbolic imagery? Who, me?  
So, Summer already has some control over her Silver Eyes here; I might go deeper into that during a later chapter.  
Oh don't be surprised that Tai had an idea, he's not just a dumb slab of beef.  
"And how do I get up there, do you think I can fly?"  
"Lake Matsu" as in the lake with the floating islands over it from Vol.5, also yeah of course the twins have in-jokes.  
Enjoy the first ever Team STRQ combo move.  
The Long Rex or "Dragon King" except the two halves of the name are in two different languages for no reason other than my own preferences….Also, take a moment to appreciate that Ruby made Crescent Rose a scythe like Uncle Qrow, a sniper rifle like her mum and put her own name on it like her dad.  
The twins are paranoid messes, they had issues long before Ozpin got his hooks into them.  
Goodwitch was a team leader and Oobleck was on her team, also the idea that Qrow and Raven thought they'd dodged a bullet is great when you remember than Tai, Port and Oobleck went on to become friends.  
Port was canonically a teaching assistant.  
If you don't think Ozpin knew about Raven and Qrow from day one then I don't know what to tell you.  
I can't imagine Summer's reaction to being named team leader being anything else.  
"We're Team STRQ and we're gonna be the coolest team to ever graduate from Beacon!" how are those Vol.3 feels?

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review


	2. Team Mum

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

Day Two: Team Mum

The sound that escaped Summer was one of pure contentment and quiet ecstasy.

"Finally" she sighed to herself, impossibly bright silver eyes drifting closed as she sank into a deep bath whose near-scalding water filled the bathroom attached to Team STRQ's dormitory with enough steam to leave her surroundings almost entirely invisible in the haze. Beyond the bathroom door the dormitory was silent and Summer was almost certain that she was the only member of her team present at the moment, allowing her to let her guard down and relax entirely; it was in rare moments like these that she diminutive and often underestimated Huntress realised just how much work being a team leader was and how much stress she had been under in the few shorts months that her team had been attending Beacon Academy.

She wouldn't have changed it for anything, but there were times when she just needed a break.

There had been no further incidents involving her Silver Eyes, the Headmaster had been concerned but thankfully understanding when he had requested her presence in his office under the guise of simple paperwork and formalities; chances for the two of them to train and work on truly unlocking the secrets of Summer's mystical abilities had been rare and naturally she had been sworn to secrecy until Professor Ozpin said otherwise. Keeping secrets from her friends, especially friends who placed their lives in her hands had been an uncomfortable prospect yet Summer had understood the reasons for it and done as she was asked.

Which left her to deal with problems of a more mundane variety.

In her role as leader of Team STRQ Summer often found herself feeling less like the noble and heroic Huntress that she had once envisioned and more like the parent of a particularly unruly group of children or caretaker of some kind of mischievous, slightly clumsy and yet ultimately lovable animal; 'Chief Dork-Herder' being a title that she had given herself on more than one occasion.

A common theme amongst her struggles and a regular issue that she had to deal with was the academic side of training to be a Hunter and how that applied to Taiyang Xiao Long; Summer herself would freely admit that the amount of work placed on them often bordered on excessive and that she often found herself struggling as she spent hours on end in the library sequestered behind piles of books the same size as herself but Taiyang routinely seemed uninterested in assignments. It had taken over a month of arguing with the blonde to realise that he was far from lazy, quite the opposite in fact. Taiyang often spent inordinate amounts of time in the gym bettering himself and studying entirely different Grimm to those that had been covered in class or teaching himself new facets of engineering until Summer had finally understood that the he was not simply 'The Brawn' in the way he had allowed himself to be painted by his peers but instead had his own plans and goals as a Hunter which didn't always line up with the Academies' curriculum; from there he and Summer had managed to come to something of an understanding and had been on much better terms ever since. Taiyang's sense of humour however would seemingly be a problem for as long as he lived; jokes that inspired choruses of groans were commonplace but most damning of all were the boys' pranks, though he had at least developed the good sense to never cross Summer's boundaries again after incident involving a water balloon in the hood of her cape.

The twins however were entirely different matter.

Taiyang's first attempt at a prank against his team-mates had been to convince Qrow to wear a skirt to lessons and though it had seemed to be a well received joke at the time Summer had been horrified when she was woken by the sound of pained yells that evening when both Qrow and Raven left the dormitory in the dead of night, returning with a pool cue and sock filled with pool balls from the common room the First Years shared and proceeded to beat the blonde about the face and chest until they had been dragged away.

That display of calculated violence had seemingly set the tone for the twins time at Beacon.

Even now after months of being team-mates Summer didn't even know where the Branwen Twins were originally from as they kept everything about themselves hidden to an excessive degree though from what clues she could gather it seemed obvious that they had lived outside of the Kingdoms for much of their lives, the two of them had little if any knowledge of popular culture or even norms as simple as how to safely cross a road without being hit by a car; more troubling however were the traits they shared such as being incredibly quick to anger, needlessly vicious and cruel in their retaliations and the fact that they were both habitual, almost compulsive kleptomaniacs who had spent much of their time at Beacon thus far on probation for stealing other students belongings or looting the campus Dust stores and kitchens. Summer had been persistent though, she had reasoned with, begged, badgered and finally in a fit of anger as she reached the end of her tether with them both slapped Qrow full in the face until he listened to her; the fact that the violence was what made her partner comply spoke volumes and Summer quickly resolved never to use it against him again but the twins had eventually become more manageable and whilst neither of them betrayed anything about their backgrounds they were at least mostly willing to listen, Qrow out of some genuine sense of loyalty and Raven simply because despite her hellish exterior it was obvious that she cared for her brother deeply. After months of struggle Summer had finally forced Team STRQ into some Semblance of functionality in any circumstances other than fighting for their lives.

And then the Vytal Tournament had come.

Team STRQ had surprised everyone, even themselves by managing to qualify at all as first years rarely did so and it was rarer still for them to make any sort of progress beyond that. Summer had been frankly ambivalent towards the idea of entering, she had attended the academy to fight Grimm and not other Hunters after all yet her friends, for that was what she was determined for them to be had been determined; Taiyang surprising her as he reeled off statistics and facts about the tournament as a whole along with several notable fighters including those who would be returning that year whilst the Branwen Twins had simply reached a level of barely suppressed bloodlust that was, if Summer was entirely honest a little unsettling to see. Eventually the first round of the Vytal Tournament had come and Team STRQ had faced off against a team of second year students from Haven Academy in the centre of a crowd of cheering thousands.

It had been terrifying to behold.

The moment the match had begun Qrow and Raven had surged forth screaming war-chants in a language that Summer was unfamiliar with and she and Taiyang had been left by the wayside, contributing nothing at all as the twins ruthlessly and effectively hunted the allegedly more experienced team down and used frankly disgusting levels of force against them, sending each of their four opponents to the medical wing with broken limbs and trauma that would give them nightmares. That it would be the two of them who progressed into the doubles round had been undisputed yet it was there that they had been bested, ruthless and dangerous as they were the leader of the Atlesian Team IRON, a young man named James managed to outlast them through sheer tenacity alone as he pushed through what must have been blinding pain and ended the match with a handgun that tore through Aura as though it were paper.

That had been mere hours ago and if Summer listened closely she could still hear the revelry of the festival continuing in the distance.

The match had ended poorly for the twins and the two of them had been carried, by Summer and by nurses wielding a stretcher to the campus's medical wing where they would be kept overnight for observation. The diminutive young woman had fully intended to stay with them overnight, noting in her half-crazed panic at their conditions that Qrow looked oddly peaceful whilst unconscious yet Raven's brow continued to furrow and her fingers twitched and grasped for a weapon that was no longer there; eventually however the nurses had informed Summer and Taiyang that their team-mates would make full recoveries and were suffering from nothing that Aura and stimulants wouldn't fully heal in a day or two at which point Taiyang, in a rare display of intuition had all but instructed Summer to go and get the rest that she so clearly needed after taking care of the twins assignments whilst they trained in preparation for their match.

Which was why the sound of her dormitory door opening caused her eyes to open and a mildly concerned expression to cross her face.

"Barty is that you?" she called out "Tai's not here, I doubt he's gonna be coming to any parties tonight" the bespectacled and hyperactive member of Team GOLD had become a surprisingly good friend of Team STRQ's training with Taiyang and studying with Summer so often that he had been given a spare key to their dorm, something that had irked the twins for reason they naturally refused to disclose though it was not his voice that answered.

"Summer we've kinda got a problem" Taiyang told her, sounding as though he was stood just outside of the bathroom door

"Crap, what happened? Are the twins okay?" she demanded frantically, knowing that despite their differences very little would make Taiyang leave Raven unattended

"Qrow's still out but Raven woke up" Taiyang answered "She took off"

"What the heck Tai you couldn't stop her?" Summer demanded, feeling more than ever like she was dealing with a bunch of children

"She scares the shit out of me when she's like this!" the blonde admitted, causing Summer's mind to race as she tried to make sense of the situation

"Did she say anything?"

"Yeah, she pulled Omen out and said that either I could leave or lose my eyes but either way I wasn't going to watch her change" Tai replied, unable to mask a slight snort at that which Summer admitted was understandable "I stepped out, I thought she was gonna get changed and we were gonna go and get some food or something….After a few minutes I knocked on the door and she didn't answer so I went in there and the window was open"

"She jumped out the window after getting her Aura depleted?" Summer demanded incredulously, bathwater splashing and spilling as she did so "For brothers' sake how are those two not dead?"

"I'll look for her" Taiyang offered earnestly and without hesitation only for Summer to answer him with a resigned sigh

"No, go back and stay with Qrow in case he wakes up; if he tries to leave you have permission to hide his hair-ties" Summer allowed herself a small smirk at that "I'll go and find Raven, I think I know where she is"

"You do….Summer what's going on, what's she doing?" Taiyang voice was laced heavily with concern that showed just how much he truly cared for his partner beneath all of the pranks and teasing and arguments and Summer found herself once again letting out a sigh as she answered

"It's Raven and she just lost….She's sulking somewhere" a note of amusement crept into her voice and ruined the attempt at frosty annoyance she was aiming for "And now I've gotta go herd some dorks"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A training dummy fell to the ground with its' wooden skull cracked open and blood flecked across the damaged portions where ragged and roughly broken edges had cut into Raven's fingers and knuckles.

"Another" the bloodied, battered and exhausted banter hissed through clenched teeth and laboured, heaving breaths that left her shoulders sagging and trembling as she turned her attention to the next such training dummy and quickly unleashed herself upon it.

'She was Raven Branwen, she was a warrior of the Branwen Tribe and she was not allowed to fail'.

Such were the thoughts that raced through her mind as she unleashed a flurry of blows upon her latest inanimate target with hateful, murderous intent as though the dummy had personally wronged her. The heel of her left palm collided with the underside of the wooden things' sculpted nose with enough force to send a thin web of cracks across its' surface and an instant later her left elbow struck a wooden temple, the follow-up blow was a backhanded right with fingers curled like talons that would have ripped a living adversaries' ear away, from there she lashed out with her left and drove her thumb into each eye socket at blinding speeds before crashing her right palm into the side of the dummy's jaw before finally, with a snarl of exertion forcing what little Aura she had at her disposal into her limbs and leaping into the air to deliver a knee-strike to the throat that snapped the inanimate targets' neck and left its' severed head bouncing and rolling across the floor of the otherwise empty training area, each thud echoing in the dimly lit room and breaking the silence that had fallen over the place.

And then without warning Raven collapsed.

Her barely recovered Aura flickered and visibly shattered in an explosion of incandescent and bloody crimson embers and the tall teen whose naturally gaunt and pale face was rendered pallid and sickly by her condition had less than an instant of warning before her eyes widened and her legs simply collapsed beneath her, refusing to support her a moment longer. Suddenly her eyes lost focus and the world span around her, her body simply refused to cooperate and her arms felt both leaden and somehow boneless as she struggled to brace herself against the fall only to caught and deftly plucked from the air by strong hands before being carried across the training area and propped gently against a wall in a sitting position from which she could glance up and see the identity of her rescuer.

It did not reassure her.

"Do I even have to tell you how not in the mood for this crap I am" Summer's voice wavered and threatened to crack as the smaller woman struggled to keep a maelstrom of anger, relief and a great many other feelings in check and even the briefest of observations would show that she had come rushing to find Raven from wherever she had been before; whilst Raven herself was currently clad in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie bearing Beacons' emblem, one of very few outfits she actually owned Summer wore a matching pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt whose size indicated that it was not her own and simply the nearest thing to hand and a towel covering still wet hair that had dripped onto the cape slung around her shoulders. Raven, in her drained and near hysterical state noted that she should find the display comforting and be reassured by the knowledge that her leader thought her to be worth tracking down and saving from her own weakness yet those thoughts were quickly clamped down on and silenced, the ebony haired bandit replying with of much as her usual scorn and venom as she could muster

"I feel I should point out that I never asked-"

"You never asked?" Summer demanded, voice rising in pitch and volume as she stared down at her "You never asked what Raven? Never asked my opinion? Never asked to be my team-mate? Never asked me to stop you from killing yourself? Damn it Raven you were carried out of the stadium on a stretcher and then jumped out of a window!"

"Climbed" Raven corrected, her frazzled mind finding the distinction important "I climbed out of a window, do you take me for an idiot?"

"Honestly?" Summer demanded, arching an eyebrow and treating her to a glare that made it very clear she would not like the answer to that question. Raven let out a wordless snort, trying her best to convince herself that the smaller girls' valiant efforts to withstand her and her brothers' abrasive attitudes and befriend them had been fruitless and she and Summer locked eyes, staring at each other in what could only be described as a showdown of sorts until finally Summer let out a sigh and sat herself on the wooden floor beside Raven

"You did great out there" she said soothingly "Really you did, both of you….I didn't expect you-I mean; we did better than anyone thought even getting this far, nobody is going to care that you lost so don't beat yourself up over it"

"They should care" Raven answered, her voice barely above a whisper, that she had chosen to reply at all caught Summer off guard and that it was anything other than a display of contempt left her reeling more than she cared to admit

"Why? Why does this mean so much to you….I mean I don't wanna make it an issue now but you've really never seemed like you care about being here at all that much" Summer waited for an answer yet received none and fought the urge to seize Raven by the shoulders and force her to look at her as she pleaded "Come on Raven talk to me, I'm supposed to be your team leader….I thought I was your friend and I'm trying to help you but you're giving me nothing here, I don't even know where you come from for the Gods' sake. You think Qrow wants to see you like this when he wakes up?" That final comment seemed to unlock something in the silent girl and her expression became almost pained as she forced words out in a low mutter as if she were trying to stop herself from saying more than she intended even then.

"I come from a place where the weak die"

"What-"

"You wanted me to give you something, I've given it. Where Qrow and I are from weakness is not and can not be tolerated; you Kingdom-born will never understand life beyond the walls, you have thousands of people who can't defend themselves and rely on Hunters to save them….now all of Remnant knows just how easily the two of us, two of their heroes can be beaten; that's why I have to be better, that's why people should care that we weren't good enough-"

"Hey, hey, hey" Summer interjected, gently placing a hand on Raven's shoulder and turning her team-mate to face her as Raven became more fervent and visibly agitated, threatening to give in to incoherent ranting if allowed "You are good enough-"

"Evidently-" Raven fell silent as Summer placed a finger over her lips and gave her a stern glare

"You are good enough" she repeated firmly "And you will only get better, all of us will….you are quite honestly one of the scariest people I've ever seen in a fight okay. If you want to train more then fine; heck talk to Taiyang, y'know that partner you've been ignoring. I'm sure he would love to help you but this….this isn't training Raven, this is punishing yourself, is that how things are done where you come from?"

"Yes"

"What the heck?" Summer breathed out, eyes widening at the answer whilst Raven mirrored her reaction; evidently not having intended to answer so honestly but not managing to catch herself

"Not here, not from me" Summer told her quietly but insistently "My team is never going to be like that, I will not let it. Now come on, let's head back to the medical wing get you topped up on painkillers and so help me Gods Raven if you climb out of the window again I'm hiding all of the horror movies….and the popcorn"

"And how would that not be a punishment?" something about the retort and the eye-roll that had accompanied it completely shattered any lingering vestiges of seriousness or attempted aloofness as Summer gave in to a fit of shaky, half-demented laughter which Raven felt herself joining a moment later; she and Qrow had never experienced the Kingdoms' love of horror in all its' forms before as such things were ill-advised in the Grimm-filled wilderness and had found herself drawn to it and a love of all sugary treats was simply self-explanatory in her mind, the Kingdoms may have been filled with weaklings but they were at least well-fed, like pigs waiting to be slaughtered.

She pushed that image quickly from her mind. The two of them laughed for far longer than the comment itself warranted, the excess tension between them spilling out as fits of giggling the moment the two of them glanced in each others' direction and as the two of them finally regained their composure Summer felt, however warranted or otherwise it may prove to be that she had made a breakthrough with Raven and that the two of them were, if not truly friends then at the very least far closer to it and that she was now equipped with some kind of understanding of what drove the more troubled half of her team. Eventually the two of them fell into a lull of peaceful and easy silence that Summer allowed to reign for a while before breaking it

"Hey Raven" she murmured, receiving no response beyond soft breathing "Raven?" she repeated before turning to face her friend and fighting the urge to both let out a squeal of delight and several curses in rapid succession.

Raven had fallen asleep.

Unlike when she had been carried away from the stadium, unconscious body still fighting and thrashing she was peaceful now, head lolling onto her shoulder with her long braid reaching the polished floor though as she took in the oddly adorable sight Summer realised that there was a slight problem, with Raven asleep there would be no portals to the medical wing or the dormitory; the silver eyed girl gently rose to her feet, taking care not to wake her team-mate and regarded the situation for a moment before pouting with her hands on her hips as a realisation occurred to her

"And now I've graduated to 'Chief Dork-Carrier'"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a few days since the doubles match that had seen Team STRQ exiting the Vytal Tournament and once again Summer Rose was struggling to comprehend the sheer breadth and depth of her team-mates idiocy, though she supposed she should be thankful that Taiyang's particular brand of nonsense was tamer, of the kind common to college students and teenage boys everywhere that made a twisted sort of sense when viewed through a certain lens.

A lens that Summer did not have access to

"What, pray tell the heck?" she demanded, borrowing and adapting a turn of phrase that Raven often used and making the muscular blonde wince as he jumped in surprise.

Taiyang's shirt was missing, although Summer was certain that the torn and bloodied scraps of fabric carelessly thrown in a corner of the room were what was left of it; his broad and muscular chest was hidden from view however by several hastily and sloppily applied bandages

"It looks worse than it is" Taiyang assured her as he continued wrapping similar bandages around his right forearm with hand that were skinned and bloody and as Summer examined him she noticed that his knees were in similar condition and his body was littered with bruises, that such injuries had been sustained despite his Aura gave her a bone-chilling glimpse into just how serious whatever had befallen him must have been.

"What did you do?" the silver eyed girl demanded in a whispered hiss as she hastily shed her cape, not wanting to bloody it as she positioned herself behind her friend on his bunk and began redressing his injuries; seeing as she did that his back was equally ragged and wounded. Taiyang merely gave her a weak chuckle and remained silent until the sensation of Summer glaring at the back of his skull became too great to ignore

"Okay so y'know how I've been thinking about getting a motorbike?-"

"Oh for fuck sake Tai!" Summer exclaimed in utterly exasperation as she swatted him with a little more force than she intended and caused her friend to jump as he playful slap connected with a particularly raw area of his back, though this in itself was still less surprising than the fact that Summer had actually cursed at him

"Ow!" Taiyang grumbled, trying to reach over his back and massage the area "Was that really called for short-stack?"

"Height jokes? Brave for a man with two skinned knees that I can reach" Summer shot back, her usual bright smile finding its' way into place and remaining there even as she let out a gentle sigh "What happened Tai?"

"One of the students from Shade, I think she's on Team DSTY bought a bike when she first got to Vale, a really nice one, a classic chopper and she was planning on taking it back with her but apparently there's too much paperwork involved in importing and it would actually need to have some modifications done to it if she wanted to drive it over there; she lives outside of the city and wheels and intakes would changing-"

"That sounds like a lot of words to say it was stolen" Summer muttered, she bore no ill-will or bigotry towards those from the desert Kingdom but had learned over the time the exchange students had been at Beacon that Team DSTY tended to revel in fulfilling certain stereotypes

"I can neither confirm nor deny anything" Taiyang mumbled, at least having the decency to look guilty as he added "So I um, took it for a test drive….crashed it and now I kinda have to buy it"

"Tai you don't even have a license!" Summer yelled, fighting the urge to swat him again

"I know, I know" Tai sighed throwing up his hands before burying his head in them and running his fingers through messy hair and brushing out some kind of dirt and debris "That's why I'm fixing myself up instead of going to medical for it, to avoid getting in any trouble….I was gonna buy the bike and hold onto it until I passed the test for it….that was the plan"

"And that happened to the plan?" Summer asked, giving her scuffed team-mate a knowing smirk that he resolutely refused to turn around and look at.

"I was with Raven and-"

"She thought the idea of needing a license was stupid so she talked you into doing something even stupider which you went along with because you wanted show off and impress her" Tai stiffened at that and Summer could see the blush creeping across his already reddened flesh, spanning his face neck and shoulders until she decided to let the moment pass and put him out of his misery "So where did your bike end up?"

"We decided Beacon Cliffs would be a quiet place to take it for a spin, nobody really hangs out there and there's room" the blonde lamented, something akin to grief in his tone telling Summer what would come next "I lost control, managed to get off before it fell but the bike went over the edge"

"Oh my gosh" Summer mouthed out slowly "How much did you pay for it? That must have been a lot of Lien"

"It was" Taiyang admitted, steadfastly refusing to give an actual number for fear of being swatted by Summer again "But Raven thinks she can get it….it landed on a ridge not even halfway down, she's gonna climb down there and portal to Qrow"

"He wasn't with you and Raven?"

"You think I'd ride a motorbike on a cliff lined with catapults with Qrow there?" Tai asked in abject horror, at which point Summer promptly poked him in a particularly painful bruise

"You know better than to make jokes about his Semblance" Summer snapped, all traces of the jovial personality that been there a moment before vanishing, though her voice softened as she asked gently "You didn't say that to him right?"

"What no?" Tai looked appalled at the mere thought as he turned to face her "I wouldn't, I mean I give him shit yeah but we're on the same team, he's Raven's brother and I-I mean she's my partner….As hard as it can be sometimes I really do want to like the guy"

"I get it, I really do" Summer nodded "Do you know where he is?"

"I think he might be lurking around the festival somewhere….either doing that whole brooding thing that works on some of the Atlesians or staring down Ironwood's whole team"

"Oh Gods damn it" Summer let out a defeated whine at the idea "He's not supposed to be drinking, he's still on painkillers….I do not have time for everything today"

"I can-"

"Nope!" Summer interrupted, popping the P as she grabbed Taiyang's shoulders in an impossibly firm grip and held him in place before pulling out the Scroll that she had been given by the Academy, there were rumours about newer models having touchscreens and built-in Aura monitors but her current device would suffice

"Glynda and James have been talking pretty regularly, studying together; she might be with him so if Qrow does anything stupid I can rely on her to break it up….Even the twins haven't found away around her Semblance yet" Summer muttered her plan before reasserting her grip on Taiyang "You're staying here while I treat these cuts because holy crap have you even heard of disinfectant?"

"I have" Tai chuckled "But it stings"

"A future Hunter who tries to impress girls by buying a motorbike everyone" Summer snorted, her voice morphing into a shockingly accurate impression of the mocking drawls that the twins employed, letting out a snort she hopped off of the bed and began digging through the first aid kit she kept on hand in case of minor emergencies whilst continuing her teasing

"I'm Summer Rose, I will be youR host and 'Chief Dork-Medic' this evening"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qrow Branwen was, to the surprise of nobody, least of all himself about to do something stupid.

He had been denied a perfectly good opportunity to strike when his sister had roped him into helping her retrieve Taiyang's motorbike and even helping repair some of the damage to it in a display of kindness towards her partner that he wouldn't have expected from her but chose not to question however through overhearing a conversation between his blonde team-mate and the ever-talkative Bartholomew Oobleck Qrow had found that another opportunity would present itself soon enough.

Which was how he had come to be perched on the roof of Beacon Academy in the midst of a thunderstorm whose thunderstorm left his clothes and loose strands of hair that had escaped his short ponytail plastered to his form.

It was far from the first time that the young man had made his way onto the roof of the academy however, he was often kept at a distance by many of his people and had been since his Semblance had first manifested which had meant that when he and Raven were not conducting scouting missions or joining raiding parties he spent a great deal of his time in solitude and enjoying having a place, even in the Kingdom of Vale that he could call his own; furthermore Qrow often dabbled in putting his thoughts and feelings into poetry and songs, bleak and dark writings which combined with his roguish and mysterious demeanour attracted many would-be suitors only to drive many of them away as they realised that he was not providing the saccharine sweet-nothings they wanted. Under normal circumstances he would likely have noted that the lightning flashing overhead struck his crimson eyes in a way that only served to make him appear more striking and dramatic and would almost certainly have snorted at the prospect of it adding to the reputation he had already accrued amongst his fellow students.

These were not regular circumstances however, this was war and there was bloody, violent work to be done.

James Ironwood had defeated and dishonoured both Qrow and Raven in front of all of Remnant, therefore dishonouring the name of the Branwen Tribe as a whole and that simply could not be allowed to stand and so, whilst his sister had been training relentlessly with her partner, studying the Hunters around her and measuring herself against each of them in turn as she sought to remove any perceived weaknesses in herself Qrow had simply focused his rage on a single point and waited for the right moment to avenge his peoples' honour.

Ironwood, according to Oobleck had been out on a date with Glynda Goodwitch of Team GOLD and whilst she was admittedly a terrifying opponent their guards were down, they may not even have their weapons with them and Qrow was certain that he could land a decisive, but not fatal blow that would remove Glynda from the equation and in the same instant give James all the incentive he would need to accept the offer of an honour duel. From there Qrow reasoned that it would be simple, his Semblance would curse his opponent as it cursed him and whilst Ironwood's guns were formidable things that devoured Aura, weapons could jam, Dust shells could malfunction, James could miscount how many shots he had remaining before he had to reload or a great many other misfortunes could befall him.

Almost as soon as Qrow had settled on his course of action the time to put it into motion arrived

"There you are" his words were exhaled out and misted in the air before him as he crept across rain-slicked tiles towards the very edge of the campus roof as he caught sight of a pristine white suit and elegant black dress beneath an umbrella that Ironwood was holding; Qrow reached under his cape and felt the reassuring presence of Harbinger at his back but knew better than to draw the weapon too early, it's broad blade would catch far too much light as he fell upon his foe especially if lighting should flash at an inopportune moment. Seconds crawled by at a torturous pace as the returning pair meandered slowly towards the massive double doors, seemingly unperturbed by the downpour in the slightest until finally they were within striking distance and Qrow's face morphed into a savage snarl of a grin, teeth displayed in pure bloodlust as his muscles coiled and he prepared to leap form the roof.

Only to be halted as a strong pair of arms wrapped around his waist and held him fast before whoever had managed to sneak up on him from behind hoisted him into the air and leveraged his own weight and their considerable strength to bring him sailing through the air and crashing down, head-first onto the tiled roof.

A perfectly executed suplex.

"Nope" Qrow should have recognised her voice but he didn't, something snapped in him and he was on his feet in an instant, lunging at his attacker and drawing his sword but hitting nothing but air as a streak of snowy white motion leapt onto the flat of his blade and vaulted over him before kicking his legs out from behind. Qrow threw himself into his own spinning sweep as he fell, landing in a crouch and kicking out before leaping to his feet and pausing for a fraction of a second before striking, Ironwood was still below him and he could still deliver his vengeance if he leapt now

The hesitation cost him.

A blow to the shoulder sent him spinning and Harbinger flying from his grasp, the weapon landed blade down into the roof in a way that would almost certainly leave someone with a leak in their dormitory and as Qrow made to retrieve the weapon misfortune struck in a way he should have expected and one of the tiles beneath his feet loosened and slipped, sending him crashing downwards and finally allowing him to break through the haze that filled his vision enough to stare up his assailant

"You really want to do this?" Summer demanded icily "You're really gonna throw everything away-"

"I would die! Without regrets I'd offer up-"

"Yes Qrow I get it, I've heard your poetry!" Summer snapped "Okay fine you want to ruin your career and probably everyone else's, you want to be the one who splits up Team STRQ then go ahead….But I'm not gonna stand here and let you, so if you want to do this then you've gotta go through me!"

Qrow froze.

The threat left him with ice in his veins and his stomach plummeting at the mere thought and his legs utterly refused to obey him, his attempts to leap to his feet and tower over Summer failing before they could begin leaving the bandit on his hands and knees before her in the rain with a choked and strangled sob of raw frustration escaping him. He had no doubt at all that Summer was serious and the idea of facing her in real combat made him physically sick; beating her was possible of course, she had clearly studied his fighting style but he had studied hers in far greater detail and was simply a more ruthless opponent when fighting living people where Summer focused her fury on the Creatures of Grimm but the consequences were unthinkable; the idea of pushing away the first person to make a genuine effort to befriend him even after learning of his Semblance, someone who had been nothing but a positive impact on his life since meeting her, believing that he could be better than the facade he showed the world despite his best efforts to prove her wrong left Qrow trembling.

"I'm sorry" the words were croaked out, forced passed his lips in a hoarse voice and sounding unfamiliar to him; the Branwen Tribe had very little use for excuses or apologies after all. Several tense seconds passed between them, Qrow's head sank and he couldn't bring himself to meet Summer's eyes whilst the caped Huntress took several seconds to decide if she believed her partner or if she thought he might try and rush by her the moment she lowered her guard, a suspicion that Qrow would have admitted was a fair one if asked yet seeing his suddenly dejected state Summer let out a slow steady breath before taking her first step towards him whilst Qrow himself tensed and prepared for whatever punishment his defiance had earned him.

He did not expect her to hug him.

"You are such a dork" Summer informed him in a shaky voice that made it obvious that her own emotional state was as fragile as her partners', the height difference between them was enough that even when kneeling down the two were almost eye to eye and Summer's arms wrapped tightly around Qrow's shoulders as she rested her head against him.

"I could never fight you….I really couldn't" Summer continued, voice cracking slightly as she let out a weak chuckle and added "Even if you do make me want to throw you out of a window sometimes"

"My people would have sent me out into the badlands for something like this" Qrow murmured, the words coming of their own volition "Then again they'd probably exile me for being weak enough to be beaten so easily as well" it was far more than he should have said and he knew that he was getting dangerously close to revealing just where he and Raven came from which would only raise far more questions whose answers would damn them both yet at that moment Qrow could not bring himself to care, Summer had earned as much honesty as he could give her and had done far more to earn his friendship than he had to earn hers. In response to his comment he felt her arms tighten around him almost protectively

"I know you and Raven have had it rough wherever you were before Beacon" she told him gently "I don't know much because you won't tell me and I'm not going to force you to, but just know that you can….You don't have to be some kind of unstoppable Grimm killing-machine or super bad-ass with me; you can be whoever you want"

"A dork who writes poetry apparently" Qrow chuckled, needing and quickly finding a way out of a conversation that was becoming more raw than he was equipped to handle; something that Summer seemed to sense and accept

"I wasn't listening in or anything, but if you're gonna do the whole 'brooding on rooftops' thingthen make sure that the people under you have their windows closed" she snorted, sitting beside him and nudging his shoulder gently with hers as she added "You're uh, actually pretty good"

"You might be the first person to think so" Qrow noted

"Yeah well, I wear a bright white cape to go hunting in forests; we all knew my taste was questionable" Qrow found himself laughing at that and Summer leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder as the two of them gradually fell silent; retreating into their own thoughts as the rain continued to soak them whilst James and Glynda vanished from beneath them, their date ending in the pair seeking out some privacy without ever acknowledging the skirmish above them; finally a flash of lighting and the dull crack of thunder that followed stirred Summer from her thoughts and she reached down and squeezed her partners' hand gently without thinking too much about the gesture

"Hey, we should head inside….are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine" Qrow told her, allowing his customary smirk to cross his face as he added "Except for the bruises where you suplexed me"

"Yeah well, just doing my job"

"As team leader?"

"Nope" Summer snorted "As Chief Dork-Wrangler"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Classes had recommenced the following Monday and the thrills and revelry of the Vytal Tournament were put on hold once again as the daily deluge of lectures, physical training, practical classes and studying that made up the daily life of a Beacon Academy student took their place. For Summer Rose it was simply exhausting, each of Team STRQ had spent weeks, if not months training excessively at this point; pushing themselves above and beyond from almost the moment they had returned from their first training mission where they had showed a professional Huntress in preparation for the Vytal Tournament until it had begun, from there Summer had personally taken on much of Qrow and Raven's academic responsibilities to allow them more time to train until they had been defeated only for her be denied the respite that it would otherwise have afforded her by a week wherein she had been forced to deal with her team-mates various problems, idiosyncrasies and antics until she could do no more and upon trying to study after classes had ended for the day her body forced her to take the rest she so clearly needed.

Which was how her team-mates came to find her passed out at her desk.

"That would be adorable if I didn't feel bad seeing it" Raven noted dryly, taking care to keep her voice lowered as she Taiyang and Qrow took in the sight of Summer Rose who still wore her uniform with her head both buried in the crook of one elbow whilst her other arm had slipped from the desk and dangled limply beside her and also pressed into the pages of a still-open text book, the paper sticking to her cheek rising and falling with each faint breath she took, scattered around Summer were countless loose pages of notes and several binders labelled with not just her own name but those of her team-mates as well.

Taiyang was the first of them to turn his gaze away from Summer herself and look at the larger picture of the dormitory as a whole, at which point something inside him twisted uncomfortably and he felt a wave of burning shame wash over him; the toolkit he had left on his bed after trying to modify his weapons and repair some damaged parts for his new motorbike had been put away whilst oil-stained sheets had been stripped away in one of Summer's bouts of compulsive cleaning, a sheer of paper pinned to the wall above her sleeping form only made the guilty feeling worse as the rota written in Summer's looping, pretty handwriting made it clear that it had in fact been Taiyang's turn to handle the cleaning and upkeep of their living area.

"We really don't deserve her do we?" he finally sighed

"Not even slightly" Raven admitted with a shake of her head and a toothy grin

"We should do something for her" Qrow murmured insistently, to which is team-mates nodded in agreement

"Like what?" Raven asked uncertainly

"Taiyang" Qrow glanced over at his sisters' partner; whilst he was by far the member of Team STRQ he had the least in common and the least interactions with there was no real hostility between them any more and he nodded to the books and paperwork scattered around Summer "You're better at taking notes and writing papers than I am, see if you can help her; I'll handle making this place habitable again….Raven, you remember that Vaccuan place that she was fond of?"

"The one that's over an hour away and expensive?" his sister noted falling silent when Qrow threw a small stack of Lien at her that Taiyang knew better than to question the origin of

"Get a ride there, buy everything Summer likes and portal back" Raven nodded and left with no further discussion, taking her jacket with its' hood lined with waterproof feathers to brave the storms that continued to drench the city and leaving Taiyang and Qrow standing in a silence that quickly threatened to grow awkward until the blonde held out a fist and gave a bright smile

"This was actually really nice of you, looks like there's a good guy in there somewhere under all the sharp edges and dramatic hair"

"Never mock a Branwen's hair, it will end poorly" Qrow grumbled, running his hands through strands that had escaped his ponytail and fallen in front of his eyes, though with his free hand he returned Tai's gesture and bumped his knuckles against the blonde's before turning his attention to Summer and silently, carefully lifting her from the chair she fallen asleep in and onto her own bed without waking

"You're right, we don't deserve her" he murmured, barely louder than a breath; a soft smile crossing his face as he added "But we are her dorks"  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Author's Notes:

So, day two of this challenge down and we've effectively skipped from where RWBY in early Vol.1 to where they were in Vol.3 before the fall, just to give an idea of what these stories are going to be like in terms of pacing.  
Also, there were some moments that could definitely be taken as shipping if you squint even a little but I think the only ship I'm going to commit to featuring in Tai & Raven just because it's the only one of the two confirmed Team STRQ ships that could really have happened at Beacon.  
I would like to say I won't be turning the angst-meter up as high as I did here for the rest of this series but I'd probably be lying.  
Side-note, Team Mom? what's that?….I'm English, we don't do that here; the word is Mum lol.

That being said, let's summarise shall we:  
Firstly, the bath scene full of exposition was originally just going to be Summer's walk to the training area but it felt like it would be too much happening all at once without space, so I made it two separate scenes.  
Did you nasties think that I was going lewd with that first line?  
So there's still secrets between the team.  
I knew as soon as I wrote 'Chief Dork-Herder' that I was going to riff off of it.  
Tai is basically the straight-man of the team, everyone else has plots and secrets and world changing nonsense going on in their lives and he's just genuinely trying to be the best Hunter he can and disagreeing with the teachers over it; he's so aesthetically different because he's a background character on a team full of protagonists.  
Water balloon in the hood of Summer's cape….I like to imagine that she very nearly killed him.  
Ever seen a British film called "Scum"? yeah the twins went there with it.  
Okay firstly yeah the twins were nightmares to work and live with because they told Tai and Summer nothing, secondly….they don't know how to cross a road and Qrow has a bad luck Semblance.  
The fact Summer slapped Qrow and his reaction to it immediately making Summer realise what a fucked up background the twins must have….that slap was originally a headbutt but I felt like it was too much.  
Team RWBY are essentially "Team STRQ if they resolved their issues" and considering what Team RWBY was like initially I can imagine STRQ being dysfunctional outside of fighting Grimm.  
Of course the twins wanted to enter the tournament, they wanted to learn to fight as many Hunters as possible and the idea of them being put against a team from Haven, a team that will no-doubt be deployed against their tribe at some point and just unleashing all hell was perfect.  
Making the inevitable Qrow and Ironwood showdown in canon a rematch with decades of history behind it, 'cos why not.  
Barty and Tai were bros, Barty and Summer were study buddies.  
"Yeah, she pulled Omen out and said that either I could leave or lose my eyes but either way I wasn't going to watch her change" Raven is pure drama and we love it.  
Of course she was sulking.  
Now Raven is a Blake parallel because of the whole running away thing, but at the same time I thought it would be fun to show her throwing herself into a task even at her own expense like Blake would as well.  
Her hand to hand fighting I based very loosely on "Poison hand Technique" Kung Fu, just every single blow being designed to kill or maim.  
Raven and Qrow wearing college sweatpants and hoodies because they don't actually have anything else besides their Hunting gear is a headcanon I hadn't considered before this.  
Summer 'I got this cape wet for you, we're friends okay' Rose everyone.  
"I come from a place where the weak die" foreshadowing and suitably edgy, peak Raven.  
Obviously Raven's answer wasn't the whole truth but it does raise an interesting point, does the reputation of a given Hunter affect how well they can do their job? I mean if Grimm are attracted to negativity then does someone with a reputation for being one of the best actually calm a populace enough to disperse Grimm?  
"Is that how things are done where you come from?" "Yes" and that right there is why Team Mum Summer is needed.  
Can't watch horror films out in the wilderness, it'll draw Grimm….Also, of course the chick who wears a Grimm mask loves horror films.  
"Taiyang's particular brand of nonsense was tamer, of the kind common to college students and teenage boys everywhere" is basically one of the defining traits Tai will have in this series.  
"What, pray tell the heck?" I don't know why this line works so well but it does.  
Fucking up enough to make Summer actually swear at you is a sign you are in deep trouble.  
Of course Tai had a motorbike….in my head Yang's Bumblebee is equivalent to Kawasaki Ninja or Yamaha R1, Tai had something like a Harley.  
"I was with Raven" is the end of any reasonable plan Tai might have had because all saving the world and super-heroics aside, he's a teenage boy and Raven is hot; he did dumb shit to show off.  
I mean Tai is a dick for saying it but you wouldn't ride a bike near a cliff with Qrow stood near you either.  
There's an idea I've seen floating around the FNDM that Tai and Qrow don't like each other and never have, based solely on that one scene at the end of Vol.3 which I don't buy at all, that was a stressful situation. I headcanon that they have the most strained relationship of Team STRQ but it's because they understand each other the least, they do genuinely want to be friends but can't figure out how.  
Have some background Glynda & Ironwood.  
Qrow is Team STRQ's answer to Weiss and I chose to play that up in three ways, firstly the loneliness and distance from everyone, secondly the music/poetry and thirdly the hostility stemming from loyalty to his abusers; compare this scene to Vol.1 Weiss being furious at any attempt to smack talk the SDC.  
Yeah Qrow was definitely a mix of fantasy emo bad-boy and awkward as all hell and the two sides clashed in fun ways.  
Glynda and Ironwood is a scary tag-team but Qrow is right in thinking that Glynda would be the scarier of the two, her Semblance and weapon leave less room for error for him to exploit.  
The idea of Qrow getting suplexed by Summer is hilarious.  
Beyond that opening shot though, she only hit him once and that was to make him drop Harbinger, she used leg-sweeps and let him swing himself out.  
"I would die! Without regrets I'd offer up-" I just want you to take a moment and appreciate the thematic imagery here, Qrow preparing to sacrifice everything to fight Ironwood, focusing on him in a way that Ironwood's own Semblance would make James do and quoting Ironwood's theme song as he does it.  
Qrow was expecting punishment, because I can't imagine that the tribe were pleasant people in any capacity.  
Ruby and Weiss had a rocky start but at least they never had to re-enact the beach fight from karate kid on a rooftop in the rain to become friends.  
Summer took everyone's problems on and carried them without thinking about herself….like Ruby.  
I feel like a Team Mum story hasn't succeeded if the people being mothered aren't explicitly aware of how much more they should appreciate the Team Mum.  
And enjoy some actual domestic cooperation that will become actual friendship.

Thank you to Blue Legends, Merendinoemiliano, Air Force Muffin, SumoSnipe and KaylaTheBookworm for their reviews on the last chapter.  
I'm glad people are liking the characterisations.  
Justin your Bull-head Geist was brilliant and I'm happy you like the fight scene that your writing helped inspire.  
Yeah, collapsible weapons are great for pulling them out with a cartoonish reveal.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review


	3. Confessions

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Day Three: Confessions**

Team STRQ were nearing the end of their first year as students of Beacon Academy and on quiet reflection each of them could admit that they had grown, learned and developed in ways that they had certainly never expected and might not have if they had not been thrown together by the circumstances of their initiation.

Summer was steadily growing into the role of leader and it was readily apparent that were was an unshakeable resolve behind her sunny and ever-chipper demeanour as she continued to surpass even her own hopes and expectations for herself. Taiyang had begun to mature and steadily found himself venturing out from the narrow niche that he had once allowed himself to be consigned to, proving himself to be far more than the thrill-seeking muscle-bound oaf that he had often been thought of as and allowing his technical abilities and intellect to shine as much as his sheer strength whilst his joking and pranks retreated from the verge of bullying and became facets of a magnetic and inviting personality that seemed to light up any room he was in.

The most notable change had been within the Branwen twins however.

The pair had been sent to Beacon with a mission and had arrived as scheming and vitriol-fuelled spies barely capable of containing their own rage and scorn for Hunters for long enough to blend into their surroundings; they had been painfully at odds with their classmates and those who didn't fear them quickly learned to despise them yet after their experiences within the Vytal Tournament and the Herculean efforts of their partners Qrow and Raven had found themselves relaxing their guard enough to make friends; with Qrow and Ironwood managing to form a rapport based on mutual respect as warriors that shocked everyone including the two young men themselves before the visiting students had finally returned to their native Kingdoms. The realisation that they would likewise soon be departing the Kingdom of Vale and returning to the wilderness of Anima had concerned the twins and both Qrow and Raven had unwittingly left their partners deeply worried as they retreated into themselves at the thought of their mission, the progress they had made and what exactly they would tell their people upon their return; it was this sudden return to their old ways that had meant their summons to Headmaster Professor Ozpin's office was something that neither twin read too much into, even if they couldn't answer their partners' questions about what exactly they had done to warrant the attention.

The truth had shaken Qrow and Raven to their cores.

Ozpin had informed the twins in the bluntest, yet most understanding and forgiving terms that he had known precisely who the Branwen twins were and of their ignoble intentions from the moment their applications to the Academy had been received and that he had been simply observing them up until now, gathering more information as he decided whether they posed a threat to the safety of Hunters everywhere that needed to responded to or if they would make valuable allies.

Qrow and Raven had vehemently informed the Headmaster that they would face any penalty, even death long before they betrayed the Branwen Tribe only to receive a grandfatherly smile from Ozpin who explained to them that he was offering them a chance to protect their people from threats that they were not even aware of yet. From there Ozpin had become sombre and the twins had found their world utterly reimagined as he had explained to them the true nature of the war against the Grimm and their shadowy Queen, an ancient being named Salem whose agents infiltrated the Kingdoms and sought to aid her goal of the destruction of all of Remnant; Ozpin had revealed to them that stories believed to be myths and fairy-tales were in fact rooted in history and that magic was very much real, yet possessed by only very few beings; including Ozpin and Salem themselves which the Headmaster had demonstrated in an awe-inspiring display before offering the twins time to make their decision.

The decision had been made and both Qrow and Raven had decided that if Salem's goals included the destruction of those they cared about then they would stand against her in any way possible; as Ozpin's smile suggested he had known they would. From there the Headmaster explained to them that the role he envisioned for the twins was that of his scouts, eyes and ears in places that no other Hunter could safely venture, gathering intelligence of and disrupting Salem and her agents' plans and that he would imbue them with the magic they would need to take on these roles.

Neither Qrow nor Raven had imagined that magic could ever feel so wrong.

"I think I'm gonna be sick" Qrow managed to choke out, gulping down painful lungfuls of air that only made his stomach lurch more as his legs wobbled and finally buckled, causing him to collapse onto the hard ground of an otherwise empty corridor within a rarely used wing of the campus

"I think this is what dying feels like" Raven's voice cracked as she spoke, a hoarse, weak and dry thing that pained her to produce. Qrow looked up at his sister from his place on the floor and saw that she was as physically and mentally traumatised by the ordeal as he was; pulsating, writhing coils of incandescent rainbow-coloured light had been forced into their bodies, changing them in fundamental ways and tearing agonized screams from them and now both of the twins found themselves covered in sheens of cold sweat that left their clothes clinging to them whilst the complexions were ashen and sickly, their entire bodies trembled as if freezing and their eyes were wide, unfocused and wild as they regarded each other; each of them almost able to see the crackling energies that still swirled about the other.

"We could leave now?" Raven managed to suggest, her fear rising to the fore in her emotionally compromised state "Leave, take our new magic back to the tribe, tell them everything"

"This is bigger than the tribe alone can handle and we still don't know enough about Salem to offer the Elders anything useful….they would never run scared and without a plan, they would wait for Salem to come to them and try to face her" Qrow ground out, teeth chattering as limbs continued to reject his control; his voice dropping as he added "And what about Summer and Tai?"

"You think Ozpin would tell them about us?" Raven asked, betraying just how much she had changed over the course of a year at Beacon by not simply scoffing and rejecting the idea of having any loyalty to the Hunters

"He'd tell them the parts that benefited him….that we're bandits, that we were planning to kill them" Qrow answered icily, expression torn between horror, fury and grief at the thought of what the news would do to his team-mates "He's willing to do evil things for a good cause….that's why he wants us to ally ourselves with him-"

"He thinks we're kindred spirits" Raven concluded, open revulsion creeping into her tone as she leaned against the wall and slid down its' surface to sit beside Qrow "Then we stay, we do Ozpin's dirty work and protect the tribe"

"And what about Summer and Tai?" Qrow repeated "What do we tell them?"

"Nothing" Raven hissed "We tell them nothing"

"We can't hide this from them!" Qrow snarled

"We can and we will!" Raven shot back "Ozpin holds our peoples' fate over us and we were sworn to secrecy….besides, they're good people….let them keep their innocence"

"That might be the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say" Qrow snorted, his tone was as close to jovial as he could muster at that moment yer Raven saw the pointed look he gave her and quickly turned away from it

"Don't fool yourself little brother" she sneered, her usual dripping scorn and venom finding its' way into her words "We might be serving our people in an unexpected way but our duties haven't changed, any fondness I have for our room-mates is unimportant"

"Tell yourself whatever you need to" Qrow murmured tiredly "I think you're going soft"

"If you weren't my brother you would have already lost your tongue" Raven replied coldly, pausing a moment before adding "Are we in agreement?"

"About keeping Summer and Tai out….this" Qrow gestured at their still suffering forms "I don't like it-"

"We were already keeping secrets from them, just add this to the list" Raven answered "For the tribe"

"This feels different" Qrow muttered, his thoughts racing as he considered just how far his loyalty to his people could be expected to stretch and just how many masters he should be expected to serve when each of them demanded that he lie and betray people who had done nothing but care for him despite his own best efforts to dissuade them. Eventually the silence between them grew heavy and Qrow decided that such thoughts were best saved for another time, a time when he had drunk more than was wise and his entire body didn't feel as though it had been stuck by lighting and then dipped in vinegar and he found himself letting out a slow breath

"But you're right, I won't tell Summer"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer Rose was, as she often was in her capacity as leader of a misfit team of assorted troublemakers thoroughly stressed out and beginning to work herself into a spiral of endless frustration and ineffective searches for solutions; though Summer could at least be honest enough to admit that the twins hadn't actually done anything this time and it was instead their lack of action that had left her deeply concerned.

The end of their first year as students was fast approaching and all of the students, Team STRQ included were preparing to leave the Academy for a notable amount of time in just a few short days; dormitories had been given a final, meticulous cleaning, tools and textbooks that had been borrowed from the workshop and library had been returned, contact details and home addresses had been exchanged as plans to meet over the break were made, Taiyang had finished repairing the motorbike he had bought and was preparing to take a test so that he could finally obtain a license and Summer was filled with ideas about how she might spend the vacation.

Yet the twins had done none of this.

In all fairness the pair did travel remarkably light although the fact that they had brought nothing but their armour and the attire they wore with it to the academy in terms of clothing and even now owned only the Hunting clothes, school uniforms, the matching suits they had worn to the Vytal Festival dance and a handful of Beacon Academy sweatsuits raised alarms in Summer's mind; alarms that were only exacerbated by their steadfast and tight-lipped refusal to disclose even the most basic facts about where they actually hailed from.

"Hey Qrow, have you and Raven got any plans for the break?" she asked, tentatively yet trying to keep her tone conversational as she finally managed to force the lid of a suitcase closed before glancing up to see Qrow using a whetstone that he carried on his person at all times on the blade of Harbinger, the dull, metallic scraping having a rhythm to it that was almost hypnotic if Qrow's distant and unfocused expression and total lack of response were any indication.

"Qrow" Summer repeated, beginning to grow annoyed "I asked if-"

"We don't have any plans" Qrow's answer was blunt and his tone a distant and utterly uninterested drawl yet it held none of the usual contempt or smugness that often filled it and it was instead clear for Summer to see that her partner was entirely lost with his own thoughts

"Oh" she said simply before quickly recovering and trying once again to wheedle some information from him "I mean, if you're gonna be free we could always try and meet up? I'll be on Patch with my Grandma and Tai lives in one of the settlements just outside of Vale city, so if you're on the mainland we can-"

"We won't be" Qrow answered in the same tone of voice that made it obvious that was absent from this conversation in all but the most basic sense "Raven and I aren't from anywhere on Vytal and we'll be busy"

"Oh, have you two got summer jobs or something?" Summer asked, hoping desperately that the answer could be something so simple only to deflate as Qrow simply looked away and continued the task of sharpening his weapon; her thoughts quickly darkened and spiralled and as the first tears of frustration and if she were entirely honest, hurt at being so completely shut out by her partner she tried to speak again only for her voice to tremble as she did so

"Qrow have I done something wrong?" that seemed to pierce the feigned indifference at the very least and Summer watched her partner freeze and stiffen, crimson eyes wide as he set Harbinger and the whetstone aside and finally give her his full attention

"No-"

"Then talk to me damn it!" Summer cried, suddenly furious "You and Raven are clearly upset about something and all Tai and I have done is try to help you but you keep shutting is out and making us feel like we're the bad guys for even trying to be your friends! It's not right Qrow, it's not fair!" Qrow visibly shrunk in on himself, the entirety of his slender body sagging and hunching as he perched on the edge of his bed; his eyes were downcast and darting in an effort to look anywhere but at Summer and his partner watched him tense, jaw working silently before setting as he ground out a reply that seemed to cause him physical pain

"I can't" he shook his head, his own voice matching Summer's as it cracked and faltered "I can't….we were sworn to secrecy"

Summer's anger, along with every thought in her mind vanished in an instant

"No" her stomach churned and bile rose in her throat as she rushed over to Qrow and firmly placed her now shaking hands on his shoulders in a vice-like grip; his reply had sent waves of primal, bone-chilling fear into the deepest parts of her as something about his words conjured images of abuse, neglect, abuse and all manner of horrors that made her want to retch

"No" she repeated "This is not happening, you are not shutting me out of anything this important Qrow, I don't care who it is or what they threatened you with to make you promise nobody can hurt you, talk to me and I swear I will find a way to stop it; Professor Oz-"

"Ozpin is involved" Qrow informed with a bitter laugh, only to freeze up a moment later wearing an expression of abject terror as he realised that he had said far too much; for her part Summer was left utterly numb by the revelation.

The idea that Ozpin, youngest headmaster of a Hunter Academy in history, sweet, welcoming, hot-chocolate addicted Ozpin who had been nothing kind and patient with Summer as he helped her unlock the mysteries of her Silver Eyes and who had seemingly known her Grandmother since before Summer herself had been born could be involved in something so utterly repulsive was unthinkable to her, but then something in the back of Summer's mind whispered to her that she had been keeping her own secrets from her friends, Qrow included for an entire year now on the orders of none other than Ozpin himself.

Her Silver Eyes widened as she realised that she might be approaching this from entirely the wrong angle and yet that thought brought her no relief

"Qrow" Summer gave him the sternest voice she could manage at that moment whilst at the same time striving desperately to keep any hint of anger or judgement from her words "I need you to talk to me, I am your team leader and the safety of Team STRQ is my responsibility. I have reason to believe that you are in danger and for your own safety I am ordering you to talk to me"

"And for your own safety I am choosing to ignore that order" Qrow answered without hesitation, in truth Summer felt that she should have seen that coming yet that knowledge did nothing to stop her from taking several steps back and clenching her fists as she fought the almost overwhelming urge to throw something or shake her partner by the shoulders until he saw sense.

Qrow took the brief opening as a chance to escape her scrutiny and was on his feet in an instant

"Qrow where are you going, Qrow don't walk away from-" Summer lunged after him as he made for the door and roughly seized his cape only to be left blinded by a flash of light the same bloody, arterial red as Qrow's own Aura.

Neither of them were prepared for what followed.

Ozpin had informed the twins that he would give them the gift of a portion of his own magic but had never truly explained what form the arcane abilities would take, in that moment however they manifested themselves and in Qrow's desire to be as far away from his partner so that neither his Semblance or his secrets could harm her he felt the same burning, twisting, lurching sensation that had accompanied the magic being forced into his very soul before he suddenly felt far too light and his perspective shifted, the room around him becoming far too large in relation to his body.

Then an avian shriek escaped him as he attempted to speak and suddenly he was moving.

Summer returned, at least partially to her senses and watched the midnight black bird with glistening red eyes that had taken her partners' place hurtle towards the open window of the dormitory, only for it to become painfully clear that the bird was in fact Qrow himself as misfortune struck in the form of the window being slammed close by a sudden gust of wind outside which sent the bird crashing beak-first into the glass with enough force to crack its' surface and in another flash of what Summer quickly realised was pure Aura Qrow reappeared, tumbling backwards and head over heels to land in a crumpled heap on the floor of the dormitory.

In any other circumstances Summer could freely admit that the sight would be hilarious; here and now however, she was simply gobsmacked

"Holy crap" she whispered as she and Qrow locked eyes, their expressions equally lost and confused "Qrow….what the heck just happened?"

With his secret out in the open, or at the very least one of his secrets Qrow realised that there was nothing stopping him from explaining and as he began to speak, words pouring out of him of their own accord he felt as though a great weight had been lifted.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taiyang found Raven in the fourth place he had looked for her.

She had not been in the campus's training area or skulking around on the roof as she and her brother were known to do, nor had she been in the kitchens where she and Qrow had been known to work in return for some honest Lien and extra helpings of food once both Summer and the Professors had reached the limit of their tolerance regarding the twins thievery and, in a final effort to find his partner on or near the campus before venturing into Vale itself Taiyang had ridden his motorbike, still without a license to Beacon Cliffs; taking care to keep the vehicle far from the edge and let out a sigh of relief upon finding Raven sat alone, enjoying a bottle of something that, knowing her would leave Taiyang's lungs feeling as though they had been set ablaze if he attempted to drink it.

In truth he struggled to articulate exactly why he was suddenly so worried about his partner but something had seemed off about her of late and the blonde had learned to trust his instincts.

"What're you thinking?" he asked by way of greeting as he sat beside her at the edge of the cliff "One last practice run in the forest, but drunk this time to make it a challenge….I'm in"

"You're an idiot" Raven answered bluntly and without hesitation, though a small smile tugged at her lips as she flicked her braid away from her face so that she could see him better

"It has been mentioned….several times….by you in fact" Taiyang retorted, doing his best to mimic Raven's own aloof drawl and failing miserably, though the attempt at least brightened her expression a little and he decided to reward himself by taking a swig of the bottle she was sipping from, only to spray it all over himself upon finding it even more caustic and vile than he had expected

"What the hell even is that?" he demanded as sucked in lungfuls of air that felt like knives in his throat "I think I just took Aura damage from drinking it"

"The closest thing to an 'old family recipe' I've managed to find in Vale" Raven answered simply

"Well tell sweet old Nana Branwen I said thanks for making sure I can never taste canteen slop again" Taiyang snorted

"I'll be sure to do that if I pass through where her ashes were scattered" Raven answered entirely tonelessly and Taiyang was left choking and sputtering on thin air as he tried to recover from his failed joke until he saw the slight smirk his partner still wore

"You're joking right?" he sighed in relief "Rae? Come on you're joking right?" in response she rolled her eyes and the two of them fell into a silence that would have been comfortable were it not for the obvious unspoken matter between them which Raven finally chose to acknowledge

"Summer sent you?"

"No" Taiyang answered honestly, taking a moment to consider his options before deciding that he lacked the tact and finesse to compel Raven to open up to him and that she was more than adept at verbal fencing to deflect his best efforts and so a more direct and earnest approach would have to suffice

"But she probably would have sooner or later. She's worried about you and Qrow, hell we both are" he admitted, fixing her with his most imploring gaze as he added "Something about going home is bothering you, I'm your partner and I don't even know where you live, where to find you if something happens….Come on Raven work with me here"

"And ruin the mystery?" she chuckled with another roll of her eyes, the exact kind of expert deflection he had been expecting.

"Really Rae? I thought we were passed this?" Tai huffed, unable to hide the fact that he was a little hurt by the distance his partner insisted on keeping between them "I mean I know you're not from the Kingdoms, I've heard you and Qrow speak to each other in another language before and-"

"To which we are you referring?" Raven snapped, cutting across the blonde with more force and vitriol than he had been prepared for and stunning him into silence before fixing him with a frosty glare as she added "Teams and partnerships are something fabricated by the academy and I'm truly sorry if I somehow led you to believe that we have any connection beyond the necessary; I am not your friend"

"You don't mean that" Taiyang shook his head slowly, willing himself to believe it as much as anything else as there was no denying that his partners' words had felt like a blow to his chest and rang in his ears even as she continued to glare at him, holding his gaze for several deathly silent seconds before looking away

"You know nothing" the words were bitten out and Taiyang forced himself to keep his own rising temper in check, knowing that his partner was struggling with some unknown torment that she seemed determined to face without him and that her decisions were being affected accordingly

"I know you don't" he continued "We've been partners for a year and as much of a grumpy, angry, mean and genuinely terrifying pain in my ass as you've been I know that there's something else, something warm and kind under it all and-"

"You're a fool" Raven spat, leaping to her and gesticulating furiously as she continued "Warm and kind with a hard exterior, have you mistaken me for Summer?….All that's under this armour is a fighter, a thief and a killer!" her eyes widened, her entire body froze as the words echoed out over the treetops of the Emerald Forest and the bandit realised just how much she had betrayed and in an instant the realisation that all of her secrets and all of her sins would be laid bare for her partner to see at any moment if she remained here struck her and without thinking she prepared to open a portal; not to Qrow, instead she would retreat to Anima, to the Tribes' territory and return for her brother as soon as possible.

Only for a hand to close around her wrist before she could engage her Semblance

"You've….killed someone?" the disbelief on Taiyang's face was plain to see, they were both standing now and the blonde's normally tanned skinned seemed bloodless and ashen in the face of the revelation; an expression of utter loss and betrayal, as though his entire world had come crashing down around him yet he still continued to scrabble for any scrap of hope he could find

"It was self defence right?" he asked, almost pleading "You were outside of the Kingdoms, there's all kinds of raiders out there and-"

"I am one of those raiders Tai….Qrow and I both are" the admission felt less like weight being lifted and more like floodgates being opened or pressure being released; leaving Raven feeling physically ill and clenching her fists to hide her shaking hands at the thought of what would follow. Taiyang, the kind, optimistic soul that he was continued to be far better and far more than Raven would ever believe she deserved and simply took her gently by the upper arms and spoke softly and quietly

"Raven if you really want to run I will let go, but I am begging you not to" his voice cracked "I am begging you to talk to me, for once let me help you and be your partner" Raven's resolve cracked and crumpled like thawing ice under that and words began to pour from her; some private internal justification reasoning that she already damned anyway, it may as well be for accurate reasons

"Branwen isn't a family name in the way you're thinking" she began "The Branwen are an ancient tribe of the Anima diaspora, our roots date back to before Mistral was a united Kingdom….There used to be more people like us, the Branwen Tribe are one of the oldest and one of the last that remain"

"Grimm?" Taiyang asked

"Some tribes were lost to the Grimm" Raven nodded "Many more were lost the Kingdoms and their Hunters; their laws are not ours but they still demand our obedience and send their Hunters to cut us down when we live as we always have, demanding tribute from those who travel through our lands"

"You didn't come here to learn how to be Hunters" Tai mouthed out slowly as comprehension dawned on him

"No" Raven admitted "We came here to learn how to kill Hunters" once again the silence that fell over them was profound and something seemed to shift within Taiyang; now the blonde finally seemed angry, this betrayal against not only himself but the entire cause he intended to devote his life to finally doing what all of Raven's taunts and dismissals could not

"You're not leaving here" his words left him as a low growl that Raven felt in her chest and were followed by the metallic sound of the Long-Rex unfurling and forming over his arms and fists, the brackets over his knuckles already loaded with a variety of Dust crystals

"Forget what I said" he snarled "You don't get to run away from this, not without going through me first" Raven nodded silently in understanding, realising that there was nothing that could be accomplished with talking now and simply widening her stance as her right hand drifted to the hilt of Omen and her mind raced, quickly forming a plan of attack.

Her partner could easily strike before she could form and use a portal and whilst she truly had no desire to kill or even harm him she still needed to remove the threat he posed, she could quite easily use the grappling hooks hidden in her sheathe to seize the initiative but only if Taiyang didn't expect it; the blonde was a more than capable fighter however and had likely learned as much of her fighting style as she had of his which meant she would need to think of something else. Seconds passed and though the two of them remained tensed, weapons at the ready and muscles coiled and ready to strike neither of them made any move to land the opening blow and instead continued their silent showdown with the sun setting over the Emerald Forest between them.

The tension was broken by an unlikely source

"YOU GUYS, YOU GUYS! YOU'VE GOTTA COME AND SEE WHAT QROW CAN DO!" Summer came skidding to a halt on Beacon Cliffs, cape flowing out behind her and Raven realised that she could have escaped there and then in that brief second of distraction but something, likely her brothers' name had kept her. Her brow furrowed as she realised that the only thing Qrow could do that would get such a reaction from Summer would be to reveal the secrets that Ozpin had entrusted to them both, though before she could truly begin to examine what her twins' inability to hold his tongue meant for them both and how it compared to her own failures her team leader spoke again, sensing that something was clearly amiss

"What's going on?" she asked carefully, but in a tone that made it very clear that her question would be answered

"Let's head back to the dorms" Tai said gruffly, turning to Raven and fixing her with the coldest glare she had ever seen from the young man "We need to talk, all of us"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So that's where we stand with each other" Qrow finished, his words hanging in the heavy and oppressive silence that had taken hold in Team STRQ's living quarters since the four of them had reconvened and the Branwen twins secrets had been dragged out into the harsh light of day.

They had revealed everything.

Summer had worn an expression of wide-eyed and slack-jawed disbelief that was quickly replaced by fathomless sorrow and hurt to complement Taiyang's vitriol upon learning that the twins had been conspiring against the Academies and Hunters as a collective from the moment they had arrived at Beacon yet had remained silent, keeping her thoughts to herself until the revelations had concluded and silently gesturing to indicate that the two should continue talking. From there Qrow and Raven began to recount what Summer had prised parts of from Qrow after seeing his transformation and Taiyang had been unaware of until that moment, explaining that Ozpin had summoned the Branwen Twins to his office and effectively conscripted them into his shadow war against a being who ruled over the Creatures of Grimm and her agents within the Kingdoms and that magic, though greatly curtailed was in fact a reality and that the two of them had recently been imbued with said arcane powers.

The silence continued until it grew unbearable and Qrow was the one to shatter it, his words coming as a pitiable whine as he met Summer's eyes

"Say something" Summer remained silent, though not out of ignorance as Qrow could see his partner and leaders' brow furrow and her silver eyes flash, thoughts racing through her mind at impossible speeds; crashing into one another and creating countless possibilities for her to examine until she screwed her eyes shut, swept each of the options that her mind presented to her aside and forced herself to focus on the present and what was directly in front of her.

"I would never have expected anything like this from you" she whispered, each word feeling like a dagger in Qrow and Raven's chests "I thought, with the two of you acting the way you do to everyone around you that the one thing I could count on was that you were honest, that I could at least count on you" Qrow desperately sought out words he could say that would repair the damage that had been done yet found nothing and in their absence Raven spoke up, her low and husky voice wavering as she attempted to sound as though she were being brave and offering her team-mates a choice even as she gave in to her fears

"Qrow and I will leave" she offered simply "Ozpin can still have use of us, there's nothing keeping us here-"

"Sit down!" Summer hissed out through clenched teeth as the taller of the two women attempted to rise, her voice lowering the temperature in the room by several degrees and sending chills through the twins "Before either of you go anywhere or do anything I just have one question….Knowing what you know now, where are your loyalties? Are you still planning on giving information on Hunters to your people?"

"Our loyalty will always be to the Branwen Tribe" Raven answered, simple and earnest and something shattered in Taiyang's grip at those words

"Our loyalty to our people is why we're working for Ozpin" Qrow added "If Salem is as powerful as he says then our people will be the first to fall….We don't have walls to hide behind. As for giving them secrets, we're still First Year students; we can feign ignorance for a while longer and deal with the issue when we have to" Summer nodded slowly before studying her partners' face and finding no hint of betrayal there, though she noted with some malice that her own observations meant little considering that she hadn't realised that her partner was no Hunter at all. After several seconds she let out a slow breath and turned to the only member of Team STRQ to remain silent on the matter.

"Tai….what do you think about all of this"

"I think it's bullshit" the blonde answered coldly "A magic-wielding ruler of the Grimm hiding in the shadows somewhere while Professor Ozpin fights a secret war against her and apparently he needs these two backstabbing….Summer you can't tell me you actually believe this?" he turned his attention towards her and implored her to see sense rather than vent his fury on the twins and tell them exactly what he thought of them at that moment and upon hearing the desperation in his voice as he clung to some last shred of the reality that he had known Summer both cursed herself for realising that her next words would only upend his world even further and yer found herself relieved that she no longer had to shoulder her burdens alone.

"I believe 'em Tai" she nodded, swallowing thickly before uttering words that would change thing forever "Because I've been hiding secrets as well"

"What on Remnant-" Tai began, falling silent as Summer placed a hand gently on his shoulder as much for her own support as his and began

"I come from a family of Hunters, I live with my Grandma because my parents….they didn't make it home from a mission when I was nine. Grandma is a retired Professor and Huntress, she worked at Beacon and I've known Professor Ozpin for most of my life….when I graduated from Pharos Academy he offered me a place at Beacon in person and told me the exact same stories that Qrow and Raven just told us" Summer paused, looking around her team-mates and steeling herself before delivering the final revelation "Magic is real and the old fairy-tales were true….I know because I am one. I'm a Silver Eyed Warrior and I've been secretly training with Ozpin since I got here"

"Silver eyes…." Qrow trailed off before turning to Raven and immediately the two of them began chattering far more animatedly in the language that Summer and Taiyang had occasionally heard the two of them speaking whose syllables sounded as though the air itself were being slashed

"Summer….what the hell is going on?" Taiyang asked as he run his hands through messy blonde locks in utterly lost disbelief, his mind simply refusing to process so many fundamental changes to his reality in such quick succession.

"I can show you" Summer breathed out, reasoning that any attempts to keep this final piece of secrecy in place would be laughably pointless before crossing the dormitory and opening her closet, rummaging around through what little of her belongings had not yet been packed and finally returning to the midst of her team carrying a small wooden box, perhaps three times the width of her own hand and less than half that in depth or height; as she unfastened the heavy latches that sealed the box mist and compressed air began to hiss out from within

"Ozpin gave me these to train with over the summer, so I don't have to go out into the woods on Patch and try it out on any live Grimm" the cape-wearing Huntress's entire demeanour was suddenly nervous as she reached into the box and produced a fist sized block of Ice Dust, wincing slightly as her skin made contact with the cold and held it up for Taiyang, Raven and Qrow to see

"Holy shit that's a frozen Grimm" Taiyang exclaimed, already unfurling his weapons at the sight one of the monsters, even one as miniscule as this invading his living space

"Yep, Sulphur Fish….small one and pretty much harmless" Summer nodded, bracing herself with her feet shoulder width apart and taking several breaths to steady herself "Now watch" with that she channelled her Aura into her grasp and shattered the Ice Dust, causing the previously incapacitated Grimm to let out several buzzing, chittering clicks of anger.

And then there was light.

Her friends watched for as long as they could before being forced to shield and avert their eyes as Summer's own silver eyes glowed and shone from within before twin contrails of brilliant, pure white starlight erupted forth and trailed behind her like blazing wing before finally flickering and fading away; leaving the young Huntress dizzy and weary to be caught be Qrow as she staggered forwards whilst Raven hastily resealed the box before any of the other stored Grimm could begin to that

"You should wear a mask" she suggested, everything about her tone making it clear that she was serious "Keep those eyes hidden and protected, there will be enemies that want to take them from you"

"That….was a thing" Taiyang said, speaking simply to fill the silence so that he did not have to think and try to make sense of what he had witnessed.

"So….that's where we stand with each other" Summer finally managed to breathe out as her strength returned to her; borrowing Qrow's earlier words as she glanced to each of her team-mates in turn "I'm a living weapon to be used against the Grimm but I don't know how to control my powers and the twins have been given magic powers in exchange for their loyalty after originally coming to Beacon to spy on us but somehow we're all still supposed to be on the same team….Can we keep moving forwards from here?"

"As long as you'll still have me as a partner?" Qrow mumbled, only to be almost knocked from his feet as she threw herself at him, arms wrapping around his shoulders for a crushing whilst here feet kicked and failed to reach the floor; giving him all the answer he needed. Seeing her brother and team leaders' display Raven turned to the blonde man who still eyed her with some suspicion and hostility

"Tai?"

"I won't pretend that nothing's changed" he answered gruffly "But if there's nothing else….then I think I can learn to trust you again"

"That's fair" Raven nodded

"Good" Taiyang rose to his feet and Raven found herself almost hoping for a warm embrace of her own only to stiffen as her partner's expression darkened "And since we're doing this, I think it's only right that I share my own dark secret….I've been holding onto this for too long"

"Tai, not if you don't-" Summer was cut off as he raised a hand

"I need to get this off my chest okay" his face cracked into a wide grin and he had the sheer audacity to wink at Raven as he managed to deliver his punchline "Summer, it was me that ate the last of your cookies the other week"

The first pillow to strike he came from Summer herself, though it was quickly joined by others.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Author's Notes:

So, day three down.  
Oh I'm sorry did you think "Confessions" was going to be romantic? On a team with this many secrets? Nah fam.  
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?  
End of First Year….I might give Team STRQ updated designs next chapter as second year/time skip outfits.  
Yay for personal growth, but seriously though I can't honestly imagine Qrow and Raven being well liked at Beacon, at least not at first.  
I feel like conversations along the lines of "What did you do?" "Honestly a lot of things, we lose track" would be common between Team STRQ.  
And this is where the twin were inducted into the Oz-luminati, I honestly don't think Oz having the twins pegged from day one is suspicious at all, I mean they used their real names the same way Blake did and I'm pretty sure that Ozpin knew exactly who she was and what she was hiding in that scene in Vol.2.  
I'm sorry but after that one scene involving Oscar in Vol.8 Ep04 there is no way that having the amount of magic required to be able to shape-shift at will into a body not meant to handle it is anything other than agony.  
Ah, the beginnings of Raven's running away, the first cracks beginning to show.  
"He's willing to do evil things for a good cause….that's why he wants us to ally ourselves with him-" More mistakes than anyone alive remember, Oz has done some shady shift in his war against Salem and you can't convince me otherwise.  
Raven and Qrow's loyalty to the tribe is different due to the treatment they got from the tribe; Qrow, from what few context clues and hints in his songs we can get was an outcast even there while Raven ended up in charge.  
Summer was right to be concerned by the clues she picked up from the twins attitudes and behaviour and how little they actually owned but her mind went in completely the wrong direction with it….Also, enjoy the thought of Qrow and Raven in matching suits for the dance, turning all the heads.  
Until we get any actual backstory about Team STRQ I'm making do with headcanon home-towns for Tai and Summer, so Tai is from somewhere just outside of Vale; like a Mountain Glenn that made it and Summer is actually the one who lived on Patch first.  
I feel like I should trigger warning this scene but I don't actually know what to tag it as because there was no abuse (I don't have things like that in my story, I'd feel uncomfortable writing it) but at the same time Summer's reaction and assumptions were perfectly reasonable.  
Qrow's first transformation, of course his Semblance had him flying face first into a window….I actually had the idea for that part first and built the rest of the scene (And chapter) around it; it was originally intended to be funny and light-hearted….yeah no.  
Of course Qrow and Raven got jobs in the kitchens and stole free food.  
Look Qrow's alcohol problems are given more screen time but look at how many empty bottles were in Raven's tent in Vol.5.  
Tai and Raven's banter here was honestly fun to write.  
"To which we are you referring?" had to pull that line from Vol.4, it just has the feeling of something Raven uses to shut down anyone getting too familiar.  
"Warm and kind with a hard exterior, have you mistaken me for Summer?" Ah the foreshadowing for how their relationship ended.  
Okay firstly yeah, I made the tribe more of an actual tribe with a culture than canon did and I feel like there are or were more like them out there; also yeah they're thieves and killers but this is from Raven's perspective.  
Also….Since Team STRQ are the RWBY that failed, look at this scene as a twisted mirror of the Bees in Burning the Candle.  
That showdown looked cinematic as fuck in my head.  
Nice save Summer.  
There was no point rehashing the big reveals so I dropped us in mid-conversation.  
Summer does make a point, nobody would expect the twins to be spies just because they're so bad at blending in….Literally nobody liked them for at least six months.  
And that's where the twins are at with the tribe, basically lying and stalling until a better option comes up.  
Can you blame Tai really?  
Have some Summer backstory and our next big reveal.  
Shout out the Sulphur Fish Grimm from that competition RT ran a while back.  
Yes Summer having frozen Grimm to practice on is a bit of a stretch but at the same time she needed something to use her powers on for this scene so deal with it.  
Raven casually foreshadowed her own mask.  
"That….was a thing" Tai foreshadowed Yang's whole existence.  
Always keep moving forwards.  
And Tai's little joke was funny, a good way to end the chapter but more importantly I feel like it shows where he fits in Team STRQ and it's a similar role to where Yang fit in Team RWBY before she grew and developed post-Beacon; Summer is the glue that holds Team STRQ together but Tai is their anchor, everybody else on that team is carrying some world-ending baggage but he's the one with 'Normal' Hunter problems….I feel like his design is so visually different from the rest of Team STRQ as an acknowledgement of that, he's basically a background character who wandered into a room full of the main cast.

Thank you to MajorBrony95, MerendinoEmiliano, SumoSnipe and an unnamed guest for their reviews on the last chapter.  
I look forward to when you eventually start posting this story you've been talking about for a while.  
The Dork Knight is a title Qrow holds very dear.  
"Pain is an excellent teacher" is exactly the sort of thing Raven would have said  
A sack of murderous potatoes might just be the best description of Raven ever.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review


	4. Family

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Day Four: Family**

Whilst for many students of Beacon Academy and indeed almost any school elsewhere on Remnant the end of the summer vacation was greeted with grumblings and lamentations for Summer Rose, leader of Team STRQ the return to classes and the beginning of her second year simply could not come soon enough.

She had missed her friends.

She had seen Taiyang a dozen or so times whilst classes were not in session of course, with her blonde team-mate travelling to her home on the island of Patch to visit Summer and become acquainted with his team leaders' partner and Summer ferrying to the mainland to enjoy spending time with Tai and Barty Oobleck or even occasionally Glynda Goodwitch of Team GOLD in the city of Vale or the village just beyond its' walls that Taiyang called home, managing to relax and take a break from attempting to harness and hone the power of her Silver Eyes or training against the Creatures of Grimm that prowled the woodlands of Patch to simply indulge in the trivialities of life as a student, including several parties, all night road-trips, movies, concerts and a shopping trip where she and Taiyang had both updated the looks that they considered their 'Hunter outfits'.

Summer's hair had grown and was now tied back into a single ponytail that reached between her shoulder-blades whilst a curtain of jet-black hair fell in front of her face and covered her left eye. Her cape had remained untouched and likely would forever would though the outfit beneath it had changed somewhat, featuring slightly rearranged and darker coloured armour integrated into a red-laced corset, fingerless gloves with stocking-like sleeves beneath them that showed off just how much muscle she had built from swinging her hammer whenever she moved her arms and a pair of larger, even spikier armour-plated boots. Added to this was the fact that Summer had grown a little and whilst she was still the shortest of her team she felt she no longer looked out of place beside them, although she was certain the fact that her eyes remained unprotected with no mask or goggles to be seen would become a point of contention.

Taiyang's outfit was practical, a brown leather jacket in the aviator style whose wide woollen collar was a creamy off-white, combined pocket-laden khaki pants and practical brown boots in an effort to cover as much skin as possible to prevent undue injuries should he crash the motorcycle he had finally earned a license for if he were to use it chasing Grimm on a mission; all with dull brazen-coloured armour placed both above and beneath the attire to give his outfit a rugged and piecemeal appearance that somehow worked for the blonde whose previously messy locks had been sheared into something tamer whilst a pair of aviator sunglasses rested atop his head.

The friends Summer had been most worried about however had been the Branwen twins.

The silence from the pair had been stomach-churning every time she had thought about them, yet entirely expected as Qrow had warned her on the day of their departure that they would be leaving their Scrolls behind so that no potentially dangerous information could fall into the tribe of raiders they hailed from, making them entirely unreachable in the untamed wild-lands and impossibly deep forests they called home.

Finally however the time had come for them to reunite and the instant that Qrow and Raven had stepped off of the ferry that had seen them across the sea between the continents of Vytal and Anima and their feet were on solid dry land again Summer had flung herself at the two of them, pulling them into bone-crushing hugs and gushing about how glad she was to see them again in a display that the twins surprised her by allowing to continue for several seconds before Taiyang had offered to carry what little baggage Raven had brought with her. From there the four of them had travelled to the Academy that they had come to consider their home just in time to witness the formation the newest batch of teams from the prospective students to undergo the familiar initiation process though Summer had found herself slightly distracted on several occasions by the twins' behaviour noting that the two of them were visibly anxious which the caped Huntress could easily understand given their circumstances, however there was also undeniably some friction between the two of them which was something she couldn't recall having seen before; eventually however they had all retired for the evening and Summer's plans to speak with them the following morning had been disrupted by some mundane interference or other and in the days that followed the four of them had found themselves settling into their old routine.

Including the twins utterly abysmal study habits and inability to pay attention in class.

"And that will conclude today's lesson….Miss Rose, do be sure to teach it to your partner as whatever party he attended last night was clearly deemed more important than my efforts to keep him from being eaten in the field" the booming voice that filled the lecture hall was that of their Grimm Studies Professor and Summer let out a wordless groan of annoyance as Qrow himself was startled awake by the sound, lifting his head out of his hands and casting bleary, bloodshot eyes around and earning himself a chorus of titters from his classmates as he inadvertently proved the scarred and grizzled veteran Hunter at the head of the class correct in his assertions. For her part Summer simply hid her rapidly colouring cheeks by pulling the cape that she often wore over her uniform in a flagrant but oddly tolerated violation of dress-code low over her face, letting out another groan of annoyance that was drowned out somewhat by the sound of the bell granting them some reprieve as it announced the end of the lesson.

"Hey Qrow, can I talk to you for a sec" Summer asked, though the hand she placed on her partners upper arm plainly indicated that it was not a request he had the luxury of denying and as the various students filed out of the classroom Taiyang managed to hold Raven's attention and lead her away so that Summer and Qrow were alone in the relative privacy of an empty corridor.

"Are you okay?" she asked carefully, large and bright silver eyes imploring as she stared up at him whilst Qrow for his part attempted to feign nonchalance, leaning first against the wall and then down towards Summer in a display of poor posture

"I'm fine" he drawled out, though the scratchy hoarseness of his voice combined with the dark rings around his blood red eyes and unkempt state of his glossy black hair which was no longer in its' customary short ponytail all proved beyond any reasonable doubt that he was lying; a bluff which Summer promptly called

"Qrow you fell asleep in class….again" her hands were on her hips and her glare in response to being lied to was joined by an annoyed pout "If something happened at….you know, your place then you can-"

"This is nothing to do with my 'Family'" Qrow snarled the word out with venom and loathing that seared the air and left Summer momentarily stunned, though she quickly recovered and changed tact

"So what's wrong? Are you sick? I can cover for-"

"Summer, I'm fine" Qrow huffed, clearly tiring of the questions only for his attempt to dismiss his partner to infuriate her to the point of actually stomping her foot in frustration

"DAMN IT QROW STOP LYING TO ME!" she ran her hands through her hair, a gesture she had likely picked up from Qrow himself though it was done for vastly different reasons and with far less dramatic flair as her voice dropped into irritable muttering "I know you weren't out at a party last night, or the night before that Qrow, the mysterious bad-ass routine that you used on everyone at the Tournament who thought you looked cute and broody doesn't work with me; we sleep in the same room and-"

"And how sure are you?" Qrow drawled out with eerie calm "We both have magic powers Summer, do you think you were the only one who spent our time apart training? I could leave at any time and you wouldn't notice" he had the sheer audacity to waggle an eyebrow at her as he straightened out and prepared to walk away and it was all Summer could do to keep calm, every ounce of her self control being dedicated to not throttling her partner for his insufferable smokey-voiced, condescending drawl and steadfast refusal to allow himself to be helped

"Fine!" she snapped angrily "Be like that, go right ahead!" she stepped back, allowing him to pass and gesturing for him to do so, they had a class to attend after all and this conversation would clearly not be resolved any time soon though Summer did see the way her partners' expression flickered and faltered before he complied and skulked away with his hands in his pockets, body tense and rigid as he forced himself to not look back at her.

Summer saw it all and resolutely pretended that she hadn't for as long as she could, words escaping her in a soft murmur as Qrow reached the edge of earshot

"I'll be here whenever you're ready to talk"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the dead of night and Team STRQ's dormitory was illuminated only by the pale glow of the shattered moon peeking through a gap in closed curtains and eyes accustomed to the gloom would see the outlines of four single beds that were currently occupied. The peaceful stillness was filled only by the sound of a clock faintly ticking and Summer's slow, rhythmic breathing and Taiyang's slightly louder snores until the faintest of rustling prompted retaliation in the form of mechanical clacking, grating and whirring which sounded far louder than it ought to in contrast to the near silence.

Raven found herself staring down the blade of Harbinger as Qrow reacted on well-honed instinct and thrust the tip of his weapons' blade at her throat

"If that touches even a single strand of my hair I will kill you" the marginally older of the twins noted with her usual mocking and aloof calm, crimson eyes first narrowing in anger and then rolling in simple annoyance at her brothers' display "Now put the sword down before you either miss entirely or kill me by accident"

"What do you want Raven?" Qrow ground out in a low hiss as he complied with the request, as if his sisters' mere presence offended him.

"You know we need to talk….You don't look well Qrow" her voice softened considerably with her final words thought it remained a barely audible whisper, the two of them silently agreeing to keep their voice down for the sake of privacy and their sleeping partners only for Qrow to swat his sisters' hand away as she attempted to reach out and place a hand on his shoulder whilst moving from her own bed onto his.

The cause of her current concern was obvious as Qrow's appearance had changed in more ways than those caused by his obvious exhaustion.

Whilst Raven had returned to Beacon wearing a slightly modified outfit consisting of freshly reworked and repainted armour with a glossier and more vibrant cherry red finish that was now lined with gold and silver detailing, the culturally significant beads that had once been hidden and removed worn proudly around her neck and hair that had previously been tied into a braid simply cascading over her back and shoulders whilst a crown of pale flowers adorned her head to show the favour that the elders of the Branwen Tribe had given her Qrow looked simply wretched. He had changed out of his uniform at the earliest convenience and currently wore simple charcoal grey pants tucked into black boots and held up with the usual plethora of belts worn at odd angles. Like Raven he now displayed his heritage in the form of several silver rings littered with ornate tribal glyphs and markings and his hair, whilst still kept short at the back and sides and been allowed to grow into a ruffled and untamed mess that fell in front of his weary eyes and reached to his jawline which sported noticeable stubble; the most significant change however was Qrow's armour whose entire left shoulder piece was simply absent with the rest of it now being a dull and unpainted metal with only flakes of its' previous crimson remaining after it had been deliberately and painstakingly scratched away to form a pattern resembling thin rivulets of blood trickling between each plate which, combined with Qrow's cape hanging over one shoulder and his naturally gaunt frame served to give him an almost ghoulish appearance.

"What is there to say Raven….you showed the elders what Ozpin did to us"

"I did what I had to, they were growing suspicious about our lack of progress" Qrow merely let out a wordless growl at that, it was true enough that the elders had demanded to know what treasures and knowledge the twins had brought with them to use against Mistrals' Hunters upon their return to the Tribes' lands and had immediately become enraged upon Qrow's answer that they had learned nothing of value in a year, with that anger quickly turning into accusations; truer still that those same accusations could become a death sentence with but a single decision and it had been fear of such retributions that had seen Raven informing the elders that whilst Qrow had been kept unaware she herself had been given one of the Hunters' gifts and displayed her ability to become a bird at will.

"That's not what's important right now" Raven sighed, forcing the conversation onto the route she wanted it to take "Where did you go?….I wasn't sure that you'd be at the docks when the ferry arrived"

"I found a tavern in one of the settlements outside of Mistral, Higabana; outside of our lands. I worked in their kitchen; made enough to buy a ticket back here….Apparently Beacon has taught me something useful. I had to leave Raven, I couldn't stay with them any longer" Qrow paused, regarding his sister for several tense seconds before asking "What did you tell them, when we went scouting together and you returned alone"

"It's better you don't-"

"What did you tell them" Qrow demanded as forcefully as his hushed tones would allow

"I told them nothing" Raven answered, pausing and searching for a way to lessen the blow that would come with her next words and finding that there was none "Because nobody asked for you….They assumed that you fell to the Grimm-"

"That my Semblance killed me" Qrow snarled, knuckles audibly popping as his fists clenched and his nails cut into his palms

"Your memory was honoured" Raven offered, knowing that it would mean little if anything. Shortly after she had had revealed her magic the two of them had been sent out into their peoples' territory to search for any trespassers from the Kingdom or encroaching Grimm and it was there that Qrow had revealed that his few belongings had already been packed and that he intended to depart from the Branwen Tribe there and then; Raven had understood, knowing that her brother had never been loved or welcomed by their people as he should have been but stating that she would not leave with him, instead giving him a fierce hug and offering to make whatever excuses and tell whatever lies were necessary upon her return and promising that they would see each other again soon enough.

Raven had been disgusted by the indifference Qrow's disappearance had caused within the tribe, though she chose to keep her opinions silent and simply began using her newfound favour within the Branwen Tribe to whatever advantage she could find, quietly consolidating what little power she had.

"I made the right choice….let them think I'm gone; I don't plan to return" Qrow whispered, shaking his head and hoping that Raven wouldn't see how watery his eyes were.

"I understand" Raven answered, unable to keep a hint of sadness from her voice "But I know why you haven't been sleeping….you're a fool for not telling them"

"They don't need to know-"

"That you've been refusing to sleep and slowly killing yourself because you want to watch over them every night" Raven stared at him pointedly "They need to know, if only so they can tell you that you're an idiot"

"Am I?" Qrow demanded harshly "Considering how easy it was for us to enter Beacon and that Ozpin let us stay for a year before acting….Who knows, Salem could have an entire team hidden here right now"

"So you're going to take watch every night?" Raven asked

"For as long as I can" Qrow nodded, swallowing thickly and taking a moment to compose himself before adding "They've earned that"

"Qrow?"

"They've earned it" he repeated, lip trembling for a moment before Qrow steadied himself whilst his face remained filled with a deep and profound sadness "They're why I can't go back to the tribe Rae. Being on the edge of the tribe, being the outcast….It was easy before coming here, before meeting people who actually look beyond my Semblance. They make me feel like….I don't know, maybe I can belong somewhere….And maybe I should have had that the whole time-"

"You should have" Raven assured him with a small nod, voice cracking as she spoke and as she reached out to place a hand on her brothers' shoulder once again she found herself shocked when he actually allowed the contact

"Get some sleep" she sighed, climbing from his bed and returning to her own "I'll take watch tonight" Qrow was surprised by that but quickly obliged, his own bone-deep weariness compelling him and it was only a matter of minutes before Raven heard his soft, gentle breathing and realised that he'd fallen asleep in his armour and allowed herself a quiet chuckle before turning her thoughts inwards. Qrow had been right of course, the way their people had treated him was unacceptable and yet Raven found herself wondering if she had the courage to take the same steps he had and abandon them, throwing her lot in with the Kingdoms and their Hunters entirely; wondering exactly what it might take for her to do so and realising with some worry and discomfort that she was not entirely sure if she had her twins' convictions.

Until something caught her attention and dragged her thoughts to the present

"How much did you hear?" she rasped out, eyes narrowing at the sight of a silver eye peaking out from the mound of brightly coloured blankets Summer slept beneath; realising that it was going to be a very long night.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qrow had been much more awake and alert during lessons the following day, so much so that he had been spared any more arguments from Summer regarding his poor performance or lack of attention though he knew without a shadow of a doubt that their conversation from the previous day would commence again soon enough; his partner was truly too stubborn for own good and combined that with a kindness and warmth that was near impossible to refuse.

Right now however Qrow had other matters to attend to.

Classes for the day had ended with combat training where he had gone toe to toe with a Cheetah Faunus classmate who had joined the academy in an effort to overcome the bigotry they had faced and defy expectations of just what a Faunus could become in the Kingdom of Vale; the battle had been close fought and exhilarating in a way that Qrow had missed, the coppery taste of his own blood in his mouth leaving him eager for more battle after going so long with only relatively tame sparring matches and carefully monitored training missions; with that in mind he had made his way into the Emerald Forest with the permission of Professor Ozpin to track down Creatures of Grimm on which to unleash his remaining energy and frustrations. His Semblance however had decided once again to conspire against him and Qrow was left wondering just how far his misfortune could be spread; it seemed that the recently formed First Year teams had cut down the Grimms' numbers by a sizeable amount during their initiation and thus far the bandit turned Huntsman had only encountered small packs of Beowolves, the lupine horrors offering only paltry resistance to the whirling maelstrom of death that Harbinger became in Qrow's hands and after a while he had simply taken to the treetops, perching silently and waiting in patient silence for a more challenging opponent to be unlucky enough to encounter him.

His patience was rewarded in another way, one that he felt he should honestly have expected

"You're enjoying showing that off aren't you?" he drawled tonelessly, though the fond smile that formed on his face was an automatic and instinctive thing as gentle breeze preceded the arrival of countless swirling and glowing, brilliant white particulates of something akin to dust or sand coalesced and shaped themselves into the form of Summer Rose whose own radiant and gleeful smile seemed to shine from beneath her hood.

"Uh, heck yeah" she laughed, adding in a slightly quieter and less enthusiastic voice "I spent so long working on my Silver Eyes that I never found my Semblance….It's kinda nice to know who I am under all the magic and fate of Remnant stuff y'know?" Qrow nodded in silent understanding and chose not to comment about how he would gladly have given his own Semblance away, this was important to Summer and he let her have the moment. His partner had discovered her ability which she had subsequently named 'Scatter' during Team STRQ's final mission as First Years when her team had found herself separated struggling to achieve several objectives at once at which point Summer's drive to save everyone and handle every conceivable threat had manifested in physical form and allowed her body to disintegrate so that she could be in more than one place at a time.

"You've improved over the summer" Qrow noted conversationally, unable to shake the sudden awkwardness and tension between them until he breathed out words that still felt unfamiliar to him as a member of the Branwen Tribe "I'm sorry for yesterday….You were trying to help, I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay. I think I get it" Summer answered before leaning into Qrow as he continued to perch, resting the back of her head on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her in a gesture of them that neither of them gave any real consideration to; Qrow had received as much affection as his people showed anyone as a child and most of it had been small physical displays like this whilst Summer, by her own admission would simply hug anyone if allowed to do so.

"You get it?" Qrow questioned, being caught off guard by the way Summer stiffened slightly in response as if caught off-guard

"Yeah" she murmured, lacing her fingers through Qrow's and turning her head enough to be able to see him "Okay, don't be mad about this please….I woke up last night and I saw Raven was awake, we um….we talked about some things"

"And now you know why I don't sleep" Qrow surmised, forcing the annoyed growl out of his voice before it could take root "And I'm guessing she told you about how I spent the summer as well"

"She did" Summer admitted "I just wish you'd had your Scroll with you….If you'd been able to call me I would have gotten you the Lien to come to Vale sooner, Tai and would have both let you stay with us-"

"It was fine" Qrow interjected, perhaps a little too gruffly and realising as he did so that he would likely never be truly accustomed to his friends' kindness "Thank you Summer but I was okay….I mean it, I worked, I made honest Lien….I broke more plates and glasses than I can count but still, it was honestly nice"

"Well, that's something I guess" Summer sighed, returning to leaning against Qrow comfortably so he couldn't see the pout that formed on her face after several moments of silent thought before she added "Your family kinda suck….And not just 'cos of the killing and stealing….But also definitely because of the stealing and killing"

"They do" Qrow nodded, choosing not to begin an argument or debate on the topic the sovereignty of the tribes' lands and heavy-handed tactics used by Mistrali Hunters to enforce laws where they had no right and simply adding "It wasn't always like this….not the way they treat me I mean"

"Really?" Summer asked, taking care to pry no further than her partner chose to divulge willingly.

"Children in the Branwen Tribe are raised by the tribe as a whole; it's just practical considering how many of us become orphans eventually….Raven and I lost our parents and for a while we were both treated like any other child would be" Qrow began, surprising even himself with the fondness in his tone

"We unlock our Auras younger than those in the Kingdoms do as well, we have to since we're almost always in a state of war against either Hunters, the Grimm or other tribes and because of that we tend to develop our Semblances earlier as well"

"Oh….Oh I'm so sorry" Summer whispered, squeezing the hand she was still holding without thinking as she realised the direction things were heading.

"Passive Semblances like mine are rare" Qrow chuckled darkly, continuing without hesitation; desperate for more of the sense of catharsis that this was bringing "Even the elders didn't realise what was happening at first, they thought I'd just gotten clumsy or lazy and then everyone around me started to become accident prone; tripping and spraining ankles when they walked by me, cutting themselves sharpening tools and weapons or dropping their food at the campfire….the idea that I was cursed started as a joke; then they realised that they were right the first time I used my Semblance against someone else. We were escaping from a team of Hunters, one of them tripped and fell on their own sword when they had Raven pinned"

"Raven didn't use her own Semblance?" Summer asked, not wanting to interrupt but unable to stop herself

"She learned after I did" Qrow informed, snorting as he added "Almost because I did in a way. Raven can drag people in or out of the range of my Semblance, that's why the tribe sent us out as a two person hunting party; I make the perfect trap even if they have to keep me at arms' length….when they realised Raven could bring wounded fighters home before they could bleed out then things changed again. They don't hate me Summer, they just do what they have to for their own safety but Raven, to the tribe she is a sense of safety and so they adore her-"

"They're wrong" silver eyes flashed angrily and her empty hand balled into a fist, struggling to find her next words through the haze of her righteous anger "That's not….I mean, damn it how can they treat family like that?"

"They did what they thought was-"

"They're ass-holes Qrow!" the fury in her voice caught the former bandit off-guard as much as the fact that Summer had cursed did and his partner used his silence to press onwards

"You've been keeping watch over us at night" she murmured "Did you do that at….Damn it I can't even call that place your home"

"We took watch for each other, it's a cultural thing….the night is dark and full of terrors and being trusted with protecting your scouting party while they're vulnerable is a rite of passage" Qrow allowed himself a dark chuckle as he added "Covering someone else's watch is….I don't think the Kingdoms have an equivalent for it, it means you trust each other completely; obviously Raven was the only person to ever take my watch"

"You don't have to keep-"

"I know" Qrow nodded "I know you're probably not going to be attacked in your beds and I know you think I'm being stupid….But it feels right"

"Why?" Summer asked gently and felt Qrow shrug against her back before giving a simple answer that left her whirling around to pull him into a bone-crushing hug

"Because you're family to me in a way that the Branwen Tribe never was"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Night had fallen once again and Qrow had, for the sake of appearances and out of simple habit pretended that he would join his team-mates in sleeping in the near future; ignoring the pointed looks that both Summer and Raven shot in his direction as he continued to read and copy notes that had been taken during the classes that he had slept through since returning to Beacon. It was a lie of course and Qrow, despite his earlier conversation with Summer still intended to stay awake and watch over his people out of a sense of family that he had gone far too long without, though he had at least taken the sensible measure of changing out of his hunting attire and into a pair of sweatpants bearing the name and emblem of the academy and a simple vest as falling asleep wearing plate armour tended to leave painfully sore the following morning. Currently both Summer and Raven were asleep and Qrow snorted in mid amusement at the sight of his sister sprawled on her bed, face down and lost beneath her own wild and cascading hair as he set his notes and textbooks aside, the studying make his eyes itch and burn far worse than simple sleep deprivation could ever hope to. Taiyang had changed for sleep, wearing sweatpants yet remaining topless in all climates but the blonde had then hastily departed with some vague mutterings about being back soon, Qrow had assumed that his team-mate had left his Scroll charger or something equally important in the library, gym or Team GOLDs' dorm and was retrieving it which was why he was left more than a little confused when the dormitory door swung open, creaking painfully loudly in gloomy silence to reveal Taiyang carrying two large mugs filled with steaming hot-chocolate and a bag of marshmallows

"Tai….what the hell are you doing?" Qrow growled, voice scratchy and brow furrowing as he examined the evidence before him and came to the conclusion that this was of Taiyang's pranks.

"This is the good stuff, Oz's personal stash" Tai wore a comically wide grin that spoke of pure, unfettered mischief as he nodded towards the steaming mugs "Come on I couldn't be your sisters' partner for a year and not pick up a few tricks"

"And again I ask, what pray tell the hell are you doing?" Qrow drawled, slipping into the mocking drawl that he and his sister shared as he borrowed a turn of phrase she often used which only caused Taiyang's grin to widen until it threatened to reach beyond the confines of his face.

"Come on man you grew up around campfires, I'm sure you've seen marshmallows before….and you can't pull an all-nighter without either alcohol or hot-chocolate and if I get you drunk Summer will kill us both" it was clear that the shorter, yet noticeably larger and more burly of the two young men had expected a laugh or at least an amused snort from his team-mate in response to that and found himself faltering at the sight of Qrow simply staring at him, crimson eyes vivid even in the darkness as they bored into the blonde and silently demanded answers.

"Okay look, Raven explained some stuff to me while you and Summer were out"

"For the love of-" Qrow was already half way off of his bed, fully intending to wake Raven and give her a piece of his mind when Taiyang placed himself in the way and continued speaking whilst determinedly not acknowledging how close to a physical altercation they had suddenly become

"We promised each other no more secrets" he noted gently "And Raven said she'd already spoken to Summer….she didn't want me to be the only one left in the dark; I get why you're upset, it should have been your choice to tell me but she did it for the best reasons….And let's be honest Qrow, if you were going to come to anyone on this team for help it wouldn't be me" Qrow winced at that, realising the painful truth of the matter that there was a member of his team whom it would honestly never have occurred to him to seek out for help or advice and that when compared to the complications of Qrow, Raven or Summer's lives Taiyang's own relative plainness and stability could have perversely made him an outcast of sorts.

"Tai, I-"

"I get it man" Tai shrugged pressing one of the mugs into Qrow's hands "I do….I mean I could have been a better team-mate as well and I'm trying to be-"

"By stealing Ozpin's hot-chocolate?"

"By staying awake with you" the blonde corrected "I can cover for you if you want, but either way I'm staying awake and hey, the company might make it easier for you….and also yeah by stealing Oz's hot-chocolate, if he's gonna put people in charge of the fate of Remnant I think sharing his stash is the least he could do" Qrow quickly muffled his own barking laughter at that, covering his mouth with his hand before he could wake his sleeping friends and spilling the still scalding drink he carried onto himself in the process yet the pain did nothing to dull his happiness

"And this is why someone has to watch you" he flashed a smile that might have seemed menacing if Taiyang were not so familiar with him "You really are too pure for this world"

"Aww there is a heart under there somewhere" Taiyang flashed a wicked grin of his own "And according to a few people a great pair of legs"

"That still hasn't been forgiven" Qrow chuckled, remembering his first exposure to Taiyang's sense of humour as the two of them finally sat on his bed "You're serious about staying awake?"

"Yeah it'll be fun….we've never really hung out before; this is just us catching up" any retort Qrow wished to make failed as he saw the hopeful and enthusiastic smile Taiyang was giving him and the former bandit decided that there was nothing more sensible to do at that moment than accept the olive branch that was clearly being offered to him

"Okay" he chuckled, producing a lighter that he had pocketed somewhere out of habit more than anything else "We don't have a campfire but we'll make do….and we're trading campfire stories, what was the first Grimm you saw?" and like that the two of them began their watch, neither of them realising Summer's eyes peeking open, rolling in faint bemusement and finally drifting closed again. The two of them talked into the early hours of the morning before falling asleep and in that time Qrow and Taiyang learned more about one another than they had in the previous year; Tai learning that beneath Qrow's harsh and needlessly broody exterior there was a kind and loving young man who would do anything for those he cared about whilst Qrow found himself realising that Taiyang was far more than the exact kind of cocky and self-righteous Kingdom dweller, eager to show off their own might that had slain many of the Branwen Tribe and instead that he was a thoughtful and empathetic soul capable of understanding the stresses that circumstance had placed on his team-mates and giving each of them a tether to normalcy amidst their unique dilemmas.

Qrow awoke the next morning feeling as though things had shifted subtly and whilst nothing was outwardly different; the four of them suffering the same arguments and bickering over who used the bathroom first, who had used the last of the weapon polish and who had misplaced whose notes for the days' lessons it no longer felt like a part that he was forced to act out unconvincingly.

It felt like a real family.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Author's Notes:

How's that for feels?  
We've got angst for days, because any story centred on Qrow has to have angst for days and some fluff to balance it out.  
But hey, you think this chapter was feels inducing? Just wait until you see what nonsense I pull out tomorrow

So, let's summarise shall we?:  
Yay for Summer, Tai, Glynda and Oobleck all getting to be normal college age students for a while.  
I don't know why but I feel like young Summer would definitely have phases of Pastel Goth and Cyber Goth and try and mix the two.  
Tai really was just prototype Yang.  
I had to have a plot device to explain why the twins were out of contact.  
Tai carrying Raven's bags….Like a gentleman.  
So I saw a post once that went into why the general consensus that Blake is a good student is utter nonsense considering what she was doing when she should have been in school and that same logic applies to the twins….Also I'd like to point out that Qrow was neither drunk nor hungover here.  
Summer is a ray of literal sunshine but you are not gonna stand there and lie to her face and insult her intelligence without getting a stern talking to.  
And here we see Qrow Branwen in his natural habitat, deflecting and making his problems look like funny antics….Remember how we all laughed at him fighting Winter in Vol.3….Simpler times.  
Of course Raven's reaction to having a sword pulled on her was to worry about her hair.  
New look for Raven, introducing the absolute chaos that is her hair being unleashed from its' braid and the beads she wears; getting slowly closer towards the look we associate with her….I don't know why the flower crown works but it does.  
Qrow has all those rings he wears but he's still doing the Jaune and Weiss belt collection look and oh my fucking god the edginess of that armour….Also the symbolism of the fact that he scratched the tribes trademark colour off of it.  
And now time for some angst, revelations and the first cracks in the twins' relationship….The really sad part is that Raven showed her magic off to keep suspicion off of Qrow.  
So Qrow left the tribe and spent most of the summer working at a tavern in Higabana….Yes, that one; which means that the waitress in Vol.4 probably knew him.  
Also….The heartbreak of "Nobody asked for you".  
Raven consolidating power…..Foreshadowing.  
"Who knows, Salem could have an entire team hidden here"….And then Qrow precoded to stare into the camera like he was in the office.  
So yeah, this is actually a headcanon that I've had for a while; that the Branwen twins used to keep watch at night because years of living out in the wilderness leaves you with habits that don't fade easily.  
Qrow searching for acceptance and clinging to anyone that gives it to him, like with Clover in Vol.7.  
Deep down Raven knows what she is.  
I mean Vale was still openly racist in the current time (Justice for Velvet) and Mistral and Atlas/Mantle are even more so, so I can only imagine it was worse when Team STRQ were students and that Faunus students would be considered something of an oddity.  
Of course when Qrow wants to go bust some heads he can't find any Grimm.  
So I wasn't actually planning on showing Summer or Tai's Semblances anywhere in this series since their not canon but the idea of how I could use Summer's Semblance as an insight into her psyche whilst also having it be a connection to Ruby, though not actually the same Semblance (Because that's not how they work unless you're a Schnee) and then on top of that have her be a late bloomer because she's spent so long trying to be what Ozpin is moulding her into rather than finding herself….the symbolism was too much to ignore.  
Summer and Qrow being physically close and completely comfortable with it yet somehow still awkward as hell just seems to make perfect sense to me  
I mean there is honestly no reason Qrow would need to be rescued from working in a bar but Summer's instincts are hard to ignore.  
Enjoy (Or don't) some Qrow backstory, see I've said before that I felt like the tribe weren't a cohesive enough culture in what little we saw of them and correcting that in my writing is something I enjoy; but then taking that and seeing how it applies to Qrow and Raven is always just gonna be sad….Being the outcast or odd one out of the family sucks.  
Raven's Semblance emerging after Qrow's and effectively serving as the link by which she stayed connected to her brother and the rest of the tribe, whilst also being the thing that separated them as the tribe saw her as one of their greatest heroes occurred to me as I was writing the scene and it is tragic.  
Yes I quoted Game of Thrones because as much as it flopped its' ending that line is still raw.  
See things like the cultural significance of taking over someone's watch is, at least in my opinion a solid bit of world building.  
The image of Raven just being buried beneath her own her is amusing to me.  
Of course the first thing Tai picked up from Raven was the art of the five finger discount.  
They did promise no more secrets, and Tai really is trying to be a bro here; I just feel like Tai and Qrow care for each other deeply but they are just too different on some fundamental levels.  
The banter between them just felt natural once it got started though.  
Okay so, coming back to the fact that STRQ are pre RWBY and that Qrow is the Weiss of the team once again….Compare Tai's line about them never hanging out whilst sipping hot-chocolate to Weiss's line to Ruby about painting each others' nails and talking about cute boys.  
Qrow being a lighter thief is his greatest sin.

Thank you to Blue Legends, MajorBrony95 Merendinoemiliano and SumoSnipe for their reviews on the last chapter.  
Death by a thousand pillows is indeed a hell of a way to go.  
I mean Tai had every right to be pissed, he just found out that his parnter was planning on stabbing him in the back; possibly literally.  
Funny you should mention the little red riding hood allusion and nana Rose,it actually gets referenced in Chapter07.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review


	5. Five Seconds Before Disaster

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Day Five: Five Seconds Before Disaster**

A year had passed almost in the blink of an eye and Team STRQ had, only weeks ago returned to Beacon Academy for their third and penultimate year as students.

The fact that the year had seemingly passed quickly was not to say that it had been uneventful however and in those months the four of them had grown closer, grown as a team and also as individuals; each of them growing into the people that their team-mates believed they could be; a fact that Summer noted and pondered on proudly as she took a moments' pause from her tasks and simply took in the sight of the four of them working and living together.

Qrow had foregone the armour he had worn for much of his life upon finalising his decision to part ways from the Branwen Tribe and was now clad in a more pedestrian outfit of black pants and a grey shirt worn half unbuttoned and given the additional flair favoured by Hunters by both his signature cape and the silver jewellery he wore; he also filled out his clothing more substantially and looked far less gaunt and drawn than he once had which could be attributed entirely to him spending the vacation staying with Summer and her Grandmother on Patch. Nana Rose had taken one look at the tall and slender young man and declared that he weighed less than the birds he was named after and needed some meat on his bones if he wanted to fight monsters for a living and after recovering from being utterly bowled over by the ease with which he had been welcomed into the family home Qrow had found himself enjoying life and feeling truly wanted for what felt like the first time, he and Summer had taken on small odd jobs over the vacation, some of which were mundane roles such as cooking and cleaning whilst others involving hunting down small Grimm packs that no fully qualified Hunter would waste their time on whilst spending their free time training, spending time with friends who lived on the mainland, in Qrow's case writing poetry and music which had even been performed in a few small dive bars and in Summer's case trying and failing to convince her grandmother that she and Qrow were not dating, her face remaining crimson and hidden beneath her hood every time the two had looked at each other for days after the incident.

Raven by contrast had chosen to return to the tribe and had returned wearing lighter armour with a noticeably shorter skirt and her untameable hair reaching below her waist whilst her eyes had been filled with a fiery determination upon her return, the raider having spent the summer vying and jockeying for a position of influence amongst her people and intending to prove herself to the elders and Remnant as a whole in the upcoming Vytal Tournament where Team STRQ would compete for the second time. Upon her immediate arrival into the Kingdom, however travelling by portal rather than ferry such thoughts of power and prestige had been set aside as Taiyang had pulled his partner into a tight hug, lifting her off of the ground and spinning her before even Summer could pounce on the team-mate she hadn't seen in months. Taiyang and Raven's partnership had grown and progressed as trust that had been broken at the end of their first year together had been reforged and with the year of openness and understanding that had passed since then the two had become almost inseparable, with Taiyang's sunny disposition and well meaning yet universally terrible jokes being juxtaposed spectacularly against Raven's scathing sarcasm and dry wit, the two of them playing off of one another as artfully in casual conversation as they did in battle where they were simply a destructive force of nature. Summer had also allowed herself several knowing smiles in Taiyang's direction as she watched the interactions between the sunny blonde and his partner and realised that their friendship was showing the first signs of growing into something more as playful bickering grew ever closer to open flirting.

As could be inferred by their current physical closeness.

Taiyang, whose golden hair had been allowed to grown into something soft and fluffy and unkempt whilst he continued to wear clothes of various shades of brown and tan with small amounts of dull metallic armour laid over it had, supposedly help Raven pack and an instance of him leaning over her had somehow morphed into Raven being practically sat on his lap whilst Taiyang helped her in her task with one had and seemed to be desperately trying to avoid the temptation to stroke her hair with the other, clearly unsure of just how far this friendship of whatever else they had between them extended and not wanting to risk having his fingers broken or removed.

"Can you too not canoodle while the lights are still on?" Summer asked in a far too sweet tone, choosing to put Tai out of his misery, whilst at the same time deciding that teasing the pair mercilessly simply had to be done.

"Not canoodle….So can't noodle?" Tai asked, barely even tearing his gaze away from Raven as he offered the retort, which predictably earned him a round of dismayed groans from his friends

"I want you to know that in my head I've already planned how I'm going to kill you both" Raven noted in her usual bored and aloof drawl

"With kindness?" Tai asked, voice filled with faux hope and expression entirely reminiscent of a puppy causing Summer to cackle hysterically.

"….You know perfectly well that isn't my weapons' name"

"By the Gods can we please focus on what we're supposed to be doing before I throw myself out of the window" Qrow moaned, dramatically flopping face down onto his bed from where he had been rechecking his own recently packed supplies, ensuring that his Semblance hadn't caused him to misplace anything or leave any important goods leaking

"He's right" Summer sighed, still chuckling at her teams' antics "Come on we've got work to do"

"And yet you were staring into space….specifically the space around my brother" Raven noted with an arched eyebrow and a truly sadistic grin as the smaller woman's cheeks began to redden

"I was just thinking, double checking everything's on the list that needs to be and I-uh, I had an idea" she stammered out hastily

"Enlighten us" Summer pouted at the mocking tone Raven used but otherwise complied as she had been entirely honest in her answer. The four of them had been informed, shortly after their return to Beacon that Professor Ozpin wished to deploy them on a short-term mission, likely to see how they had progressed for himself and their current packing was in preparation for an early departure the following morning; Summer finding herself exceptionally grateful for the twins' presence once again as they continued to prove just how efficient and capable they were with just how little resources they required to function effectively in the field and it was in the middle of these thoughts that the cape-wearing Huntress had recalled a particular gripe of her grandmothers' that Summer had found herself agreeing with

"We should take some photographs on the mission….some of us as a team"

"Why?" Raven asked, utterly perplexed by this foreign sentimentality

"Because we're in our third year as students now and we only have two of us all together" Summer lamented, shrinking in on herself at the thought "We didn't even take those either, there's the picture from our initiation ceremony and the one from the first round of the Vytal Tournament and that's it"

"That's….actually kinda depressing" Taiyang admitted with a frown

"It is when you say it like that" Raven muttered "You have other pictures though?"

"I mean some" Summer shrugged "Really don't have many of you though….You always hide your face and hair and Qrow you always try lurk and sulk in the back"

"We'll take some on the mission" Qrow promised her, flashing a bright smile as he remembered something that had been said during Team STRQ's formation "We need some of the four of us if we want people to remember the coolest team to ever graduate Beacon"

"And that's why we're cape buddies" Summer beamed, only for Raven to undercut the moment with a bemused snort as Tai chimed in

"Oh so we can't noodle but you two can-"

"Tai shut up!" the words came from each of the other members of Team STRQ in perfect unison and Taiyang was left cackling at his own perceived comedic genius as the four of them continued to prepare for their upcoming mission.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are we there yet?"

"Taiyang I swear on my ancestors names that I will skin you alive if you ask me that again" Raven accompanied her words with a glare at her partner who responded by treating her to a playful wink as he readjusted the heavy pack of supplies that he was currently carrying whilst ahead of them Qrow and Summer shook their heads and shared knowing looks

"We could just leave 'em behind" Summer noted, trying to sound thoughtful though the wide smile she wore gave away her teasing

"No we can't….Raven would just portal to me" Qrow sighed only to be caught off guard as his partner seized his wrist and promptly activated her Semblance without warning.

Something that Qrow was completely unprepared for.

Travelling via Raven's portals was a comforting experience, his twins' Semblance was a conduit to those she cared about and passing through the openings that were created was a warmer and more comfortable experience than their outward appearance would suggest, moreover the transit was entirely smooth whilst the same could not be said for being hurled by Summer when she used 'Scatter', the smaller girls' Semblance broke her physical form down into a whirling vortex of particles that acted with more force and momentum that they should rightly have; forming rudimentary armatures to protect or shove allies aside or strike Creatures of Grimm within an area of effect as the leader of Team STRQ strove to be everywhere at once.

"Warn me next time, please" Qrow gasped out as he tripped over his own feet and dry heaved on the ground as his mind, used to the sudden shifting and movement that came with his magical abilities was left still reeling all the same as it clattered against the inside of his skull. Summer for her part carried her momentum into a skipping motion as she re-materialised turning and pulling him to his feet with one hand whilst waving at Taiyang and Raven who had been left in the distance with the other and sticking her tongue out them playfully upon hearing their complaints. Soon enough the four of them were reunited as Raven used a portal as expected and Summer gestured out to their surroundings and smiled happily

"Okay, we're here we made it"

"Oh thank the gods, Aura does nothing for blisters" Taiyang sighed, his friends paying him no mind as the focused on their objective.

Team STRQ had been deployed by aircraft to a small but well protected and thus largely peaceful village beyond Vale's walls the previous day, arriving at their lodgings late afternoon and speaking with their contractor before making preliminary sweeps of the surrounding area before retiring early for the evening. It was an idyllic place from which the peaks of the vast mountains that would house the Kingdom of Vale's grand expansion, a project dubbed 'Mountain Glenn' could be seen and the two settlements, as vastly different as they outwardly seemed were in fact connected in a sense. The massive amounts of construction and mining work, along with the vast increase of negative emotions those involved in the project had brought with them; a legion of largely underpaid blue collar worked performing dangerous tasks for little reward, many of whom were Faunus immigrants from the Kingdom of Atlas using the SDCs' involvement in the planning of the new mining town as a chance to leave their hateful homeland had naturally drawn the attention of the Creatures of Grimm and though the village Team STRQ had been stationed at was well defended enough to repel the onslaughts of packs of simple Beowolves or Ursa and the like, something far larger and far more dangerous had purportedly travelled through the surrounding wilderness of the hillsides and mountains and the forests that surrounded them and had seen the village as a worthy morsel on the path of destruction towards its' true prize.

Naturally Team STRQ would not leave until they had slain this monster.

In aid of this goal the four of them had, on Summer's instruction after listening to Qrow and Raven's input journeyed for several hours the following morning to where they now stood, the peak of the largest of the many hills that flanked the village; a vantage point which allowed them a view of everything for miles around.

It was spectacular.

"Wow" Summer murmured "You don't get views like this on Patch"

"Nor in the tribe lands" Qrow added quietly as he took in the sight of countless miles of untouched and pristine forest stretching out beyond the Kingdom of Vale's paltry attempts to tame it with mountains that reached towards the clouds framing them in the distance "We don't have mountains high enough for this, not outside of Mistral itself"

"Qrow….you remember we can fly, yes?" Raven noted, earning herself a playful elbow to armoured ribs from Tai who managed to silently convey the message that she should let her brother and his partner have this moment and though she rolled her eyes at the display and stood with her arms folded across her chest, looking for all the world as though she were simply above such things she obliged them.

"Okay, so we're up here" Tai noted, dropping the heavy pack of various supplies that they had brought from his shoulder and onto the grassy ground "Now what"

"We know we're looking for a large Grimm, Qrow and I can scout from the air and search for any paths its' cleared before we move in; you and Summer can build camp while we're gone….this could be a long Hunt" Raven suggested, eyes narrowing as she took in the view not for its' beauty but for the target it represented; mentally dissecting and cataloguing everything she saw and searching for patterns that could be used to make inferences as she put the teachings of her people to use.

"Good idea….But first, you wanna eat?" Taiyang asked and despite every instinct she had telling her to continue to act calm and unflappable at all times Raven simply could not maintain her composure and gave her partner a grin

"Is this your way of saying we should make a campfire and start on those marshmallows I took from Ozpin"

"I mean I was planning on saving those for later" Taiyang shrugged "Besides, you can't hunt Grimm on nothing but sweets"

"Oh my gosh, can you guy stop stealing from our Headmaster!" Summer gasped, hands over her mouth in horror "He knows my Grandma, you're gonna get me in so much trouble"

"I mean I'm willing to bet that he knows and just doesn't care" Qrow noted "He sees everything, he probably just finds it funny"

"Are you saying I can't take something without being caught?" Raven challenged

"Now, now you're both pretty" Tai interjected, giving the twins his best impression of their signature husky drawl and earning baleful glares from them both

"Ugh, you guys are all dorks, what am I gonna do with you?" Summer giggled, stretching and making herself comfortable before reaching into the seemingly endless folds of her cloak which somehow managed to remain an impossibly bright, almost glowing shade of white over years and producing a heavy, sturdy and reliable camera

"But before we start setting up camp or start cooking how about we get a team photo?"

"Is now really the-"

"Rae" Qrow interjected sternly "We promised"

"Fine" she ground out the single word and slunk over to where her team-mates were gathering as Summer prepared the camera; Taiyang stepping closer with his arm twitching in a way that made it clear that he was considering draping an arm over her shoulder but ultimately decided against it whilst Raven herself glared daggers at the camera and Qrow managed to look dramatic and imposing with his cape trailing out beside him. Summer used her Semblance to fling herself into the shot whilst keeping the camera in place, a side-effect being that the entire image was filled with falling fragments and faintly glowing particles of her Aura illuminating them like fireflies even in broad daylight.

The photo would have been beautiful were not it rendered blurry and useless by the fact that each of the four Hunters had whipped around suddenly towards a new sound that had been carried faintly on the wind.

Screaming, coming from the village that they had left.

"Oh no" Summer whispered "It's the Grimm it must be"

"I shouldn't be-"

"This isn't about you Qrow" Taiyang cut off his train of thought, astute enough to know where it would lead "Any Grimm as big and nasty as the one we're looking for is smart enough to time its' attacks; most likely someone opened the main gates to let someone in or out"

"We don't have time to stand here talking" Raven spat viciously before rounding on Summer "What's the plan?" Summer took a moment to take stock of the situation, noting that Tai's bike had not been brought with them which left them with only one option for a rapid deployment

"Qrow fly back to village and open fire, Raven the second you hear his gunshots you open a portal and get us there" upon hearing his orders Qrow nodded silently and he and Summer shared a last meaningful look before he charged and hurled himself from the crest of the hill they stood on, letting out a piercing, avian shriek as he took to the air and soared towards the village.

"We didn't have to set up camp….And it's already about to get in-tents" Tai grinned savagely as the Long-Rex unfurled around his fists, the Dust crystals fitted into the gauntlets shimmering in the sunlight.

"Team STRQ!" Summer called out, voice booming and commanding as she deployed Shatter-Moon in its' hammer form with Raven and Taiyang flanking her "Let's go be heroes!"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qrow's first barrage of blows came in a blind fury that had been honed and tempered into a killing edge over years of combat against all manner of opponents.

He swooped and dove towards the centre of the mass of living darkness that was the attacking Grimm before returning to his true form in a flash of crimson Aura with Harbinger appearing in his hands in its' scythe form as he landed in a crouch that sent his knee crashing through armour of sculpted and styled bone before unleashing a maelstrom of slashes that tore deep trenches into the obsidian flesh of the monster whilst its' screams of rage and agony filled the air. Then, without warning something struck him from behind with the force of a falling star and Qrow found himself rolling to a stop in the midst of a hastily abandoned street; quickly recovering and glancing around to see that the immediate area was indeed entirely free of civilians before taking his first real look at the Creature of Grimm that he had been blindly attacking thus far.

The thing was monstrous.

Its' body was huge, roughly two stories tall at its' haunches and possessing a build like that of a tiger or some other large feline predator; indeed the thick plates of bone armour that adorned its' muscular and leathery flesh were pitted, jagged and scarred with age and joined by several smaller bands that appeared more like stripes than bone. Its' four powerful limbs ended paws larger than Qrow's own torso tipped with hooked claws and a tail lined with rows of oddly neatly arranged jutting spikes and blades swished behind the things body, ripping gouges into the street it stood; its' neck and shoulders were adorned by a thick and shaggy mane of white fur which Qrow sensed instinctively would have a texture like steel wool or something similar and from that neck rose what he had been struck by.

One of the things' nine heads.

Each skull was largely simian in appearance, polished ivory bone that sloped forward into a pronounced under-bite filled with fangs and tusks and as each pair of hateful, glowing red eyes honed in on him Qrow noted that each of them let out a wailing shriek at a slightly different pitch whilst the thrashed on long, muscular and serpentine necks over a dozen feet in neck lined with shimmering scales and a row of tapering bone quills along their length. He had never encountered a Grimm such as this personally but the name 'Kaiming Shou' came to the forefront of his mind, a ferocious monster that one of the elders of the Branwen Tribe claimed to have slain.

Knowing that this would not be an easy fight but that there was nothing he could do but keep the monster at bay and away from wherever the people of the village had fled to Qrow quickly shifted Harbinger into its' shotgun form and fired at the Grimm's neck, leaping into the air as he did so and using the recoil of the Gravity Dust round he had fired to fling himself backwards with expert timing as the monster pounced at him. The first of the Grimm's many heads collided with the ground in a painful and cruelly amusing display of misfortune yet its' assault continued, bestial snarls escaping each of its' mouths as it bounded after Qrow, crushing parked cars beneath its' paws as the Hunter hopped from the roof of one vehicle to another, zigzagging and continuing to shoot at the Grimm as he went, though the impacts had little discernable affect beyond enraging it further.

Then disaster stuck, in the most predictable and inevitable way possible.

"No attempted 'murder' of the bird twins!" the familiar sight of one of Raven's portals tearing itself into existence before him, placing her between Qrow and his assailant was joined with the equally familiar sound of Taiyang making light of the situation with jokes as he was the first to come surging out of the portal ready to strike, yet in the same moment the Kaiming Shou planted its' feet into the ground and attacked with all nine of its' heads at once, letting out deafening shrieks and roars as its struck with an impact hat lifted him from his feet and left his golden Aura visibly crackling around him as he ploughed a trench into the road and smashed several parked and abandoned cars aside before coming to a halt.

"Less joking, more fighting!" Raven admonished as she leapt through her own portal, unsheathing Omen and in the same fluid moment firing a spare blade from her swords' cylindrical sheath as a projectile which tore through the front right paw of the Grimm and into the ground.

"Now!" Raven barked at Qrow "While it's pinned we can-" exactly what she wanted to suggest went unheard as the Kaiming Shou tore ripped itself free of the blade in gruesome fashion, letting out a tortured howl as it eviscerated its' own paw before sending its' nine heads lunging at the trio of stunned Hunters from all angles

Yer when it struck none of them were there to be hit.

Streams of white light that was somehow both ephemeral and yet an entirely physical think burst from the rapidly closing portal, erupting outwards and rushing back towards a single point like a collapsing star and collecting Taiyang Raven and Qrow as it did so, coalescing into the form of Summer Rose whose cape swirled around her whilst her steely and determined gaze could be clearly seen from beneath her hood to give her an appearance of pure, distilled heroism.

"Hey" Summer allowed herself a small smile as she turned to Qrow and gave him a nonchalant smile before focusing once again as the Kaiming Shou turned towards the assembled Team STRQ "We need a plan for this thing"

"I'm open to suggestions" Raven noted, betraying a hint of urgency as the monstrous beast came thundering towards them, only to relax as the way Summer shifted her weight was enough to inform her that her diminutive team leader was indeed prepared

"Qrow, you and Raven keep it boxed in and distracted….Give it as much bad luck as you can" she took a slow breath to steady herself "Tai I need to focus for what I'm about to try….think you can dish out enough big hits to soften it up for me?"

"Well when you give me that puppy-dog look I can certainly tender-eyes it for you" the blonde grinned and with a single, final bemused sigh Team STRQ leapt into action.

Just as the Kaiming Shou reached them.

Summer used a burst of her Semblance to position herself out of the way, her body disintegrating and reforming elsewhere within the area of effect the particles she became covered whilst Qrow and Raven transformed into twin flashes of light and simply flew out of the Grimm's reach. Taiyang on the other hand did something that few, even amongst the ranks of professional Hunters would have been brave enough to attempt and rushed directly towards the towering monster; the Gravity, Lightning and Fire Dust crystals mounted in the knuckles of his weapons being activated and their combined explosive effects coalescing into a ball of golden, destructive light held between his palms which he unleashed with a mocking yell

"Come and meet my Knuckle Dust-ers you ugly son of a bitch!" the attack ripped through the air and the Kaiming Shou leapt aside to avoid it yet, either in spite or perhaps because of the misfortune caused by having Qrow flying so close to it a vast wound was burned and blasted into its' flank with ribs, armour plating and muscle sizzled as they were reduced to acrid black mist.

Taiyang pressed his advantage without hesitation yet the Grimm had lost none of its' speed and its' many skulls come hurtling towards him; bringing him to his knees with a volley of devastating blows, crushing, biting and slashing with razor sharp and forked tongues until his Aura flickered and flashed around him at the verge of failure.

Exactly as he had intended

"Rae! Qrow! Now!" he yelled and above him the Branwen twins came diving from the air and returned to their true forms with their swords at the ready, landing on either side of the Grimm and tearing unspeakable wounds into its' flanks before quickly leaping aside so that Taiyang could safely unleash his Semblance.

Safe in the knowledge that her concern would go unseen Raven allowed the worry she felt every time her partner used his full abilities to show plainly on her face; knowing as she did the way a persons' Semblance was tied to the very nature of their being the fact that Taiyang's was centred around taking punishment until he could withstand no more and then unleashing it in an all-consuming wave was something she hoped that they would never have to examine the roots of. Taiyang's Semblance was one he had named 'Floodgates' and it was simply awe-inspiring to see in action; his blonde hair glowed gold with the light of his Aura and his blue eyes shone whilst storm clouds and lightning comprised of pure, crackling Aura swirled and danced around him before with a roar of exertion he unleashed all of his might in a single, unstoppable shock-wave of golden light and concussive force that sounded as though Remnant itself were collapsing.

"Bad kitty" Taiyang chuckled weakly as he sank to his knees with his Aura shattering around him; the Kaiming Shou had landed several dozen feet away with its' body visibly smoking and he could count its' many heads from his current position and see that several of them had been torn away by the sheer power he had unleashed yet his exhausted and addled mind quickly realised with sinking dread that the Grimm's body was shattering and dispersing as it should have.

It was still alive.

A moment later it was on its' feet once again and surging towards him despite the heavy damage it had suffered with its' remaining maws opened wide to devour the Hunter who had wounded it and was now unable to defend himself. Taiyang struggled to drag himself to his feet yet his limbs simply refused to obey; Qrow flung himself into the fray again as he sprinted alongside the beast and alternated between shooting at it and trying use Harbingers' scythe mode to trip it until finally it swung its' bladed tail like a club and knocked him aside. In a matter of seconds Taiyang realised that it was over, the first of the Grimm's heads was diving towards him on its' snakelike neck and he simply locked eyes with it, determined to face down his opponent until the very end.

And then he was saved.

"RUN YOU IDIOT!" Raven demanded as a portal opened directly beside him and a loose katana blade was fired from within with expert position, the blade slashing at the eyes of the lunging head and leaving it reeling back in shock and pain whilst Raven came rolling into a crouch beside Taiyang and opened fire with four more blades in rapid succession; revealing that she had finally completed the upgrades to Omen that she had been planning for some time as blades made of solid Ice Dust tore through joints and tendons before freezing the legs of the Kaiming Shou solid and to the ground.

"Wait….you….can do that?" Taiyang mouthed out slowly, stunned by the fact that Raven could indeed open a portal to the blondes' location and the implications of what that meant only to be forced back into the present moment by the Grimm continuing to snap at them with its' remaining heads

"Talk about it later" Qrow interjected gruffly as he leapt in front of them and in a truly perfect display of skill with a blade and the utilization of his Semblance his simply held Harbinger out and allowed the monster to decapitate one of its' own heads in a failed attack.

Then Summer Rose entered the battle

"Don't worry guys! I've got this! The words were declared with absolute certainty as she appeared before them in a burst of falling starlight and embers that reformed themselves into her body, her entire form seeming to glow and vibrate with the force of the mystical powers she wielded whilst her Silver Eyes shone from within with a brilliant white light that she finally allowed to erupt forth as the Grimm made to tear itself free of the ice that held it; blinding contrails of light streamed behind her like vast wings and the entire street was consumed by the force of her attack until it finally subsided and Qrow rushed towards Summer to prop her up as she sagged forwards

"Woah" he mouthed out in abject awe as he turned his gaze towards where the Kaiming Shou had stood and saw the true scope of his partners' power, the Grimm had been petrified and turned entirely to stone whilst Summer herself reached and gave Qrow an indescribably cocky smirk as she took his arm whilst hefting Shatter-Moon with the other hand

"We're not done yet….Wanna help me finish it off?"

"Team cape buddies" Qrow nodded with a smirk of his own, earning a laugh from his partner

"Get in the air" she instructed "Raven, portal on Qrow on my signal" and with that Qrow took to the skies once again Summer waiting until he was directly above the still petrified Kaiming Shou before turning and nodding to Raven and leaping through the portal she created; an instant later she she was falling, streaking through the air like a falling comet with her hammer held over head and a battle-cry on her lips as the Grimm began to show the first signs of freeing itself from its' stony prison.

And then it perished.

Summer swung her hammer at the point where its' many necks merged and simply tore through the monster with a single earth-shattering blow, landing in a crouch with her cape spilling around her beneath the cloud of midnight darkness that its' body had been reduced to; taking a few seconds to get her bearings and ensure that the battle was truly over before rising to her feet as Qrow landed beside her and giving a wide smile of pure happiness as she cheered in a singsong voice

"Best team ever"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their mission had been completed yet Team STRQ had still not been able to leave the village where it had taken place.

This came as little surprise to the four of them however, as Third Year students of Beacon Academy they were intimately aware of the procedures and protocols that would have to be followed before their work could be considered done at this point.

Firstly there had been the matter of an official debriefing and report, they would likely have a more thorough and honest recounting of their mission with Professor Ozpin in the near future but the contractor who had requested students be sent to the village still required confirmation from the Hunters themselves that the objective had been completed which unfortunately but predictably included a small mountain of paperwork, following this had interviews with local law enforcement and members of the villages' defensive garrison; a necessity following any incident involving the Creatures of Grimm breaching a settlements walls though the locals had been thankful and welcoming of Team STRQ and their efforts with the commander in charge of the settlements' defences stating that they would be petitioning Vale's Council to transfer forces from Mountain Glenn to the surrounding areas whilst also assuring Team STRQ that the four of them would not be required to be involved in any insurance claims regarding destroyed vehicles or other property as they were still students.

Finally however it had ended and now the four of them were in a small park at the edge of the village, enjoying the picnic that Summer had prepared and Raven had retrieved from the hill where Tai's pack had been abandoned prior to the battle as they waited to be relieved; even with the Kaiming Shou defeated the forests held other horrors and it was clear that there should be a Hunter stationed here for the foreseeable future.

"So uh Rae….how long have you been able to….y'know?" Taiyang began, nervous and halting as he chose to abandon tact and subtlety and simply tackle the matter directly

"Why do you insist on making this awkward" Raven grumbled, treating him to an annoyed scowl from where she sat, half-hidden in the shade beneath a tree

"Nothing awkward about it" Qrow noted from his position above her, laying flat on his back along a particularly sturdy limb of the tree

"I hope that branch breaks" she shot back

"Come on, I'm just curious" Taiyang prodded, voice faltering somewhat and eyes darting to look anywhere but at her as he added "I'm not reading anything into it….I mean I'm sure you could make a portal to Summer as well if you wanted"

"Ooh that's a cool idea, you wanna try it?" Summer chimed in; Raven paused and seemed to genuinely consider the idea for several seconds before grinning

"Save it for when you need it, you'll appreciate it more then….especially since you're still keeping those eyes of yours unprotected"

"Hey Raven" Summer treated her friend to a smile that was far too sweet and gave her a knowing look "You know we all actually like you right? You're allowed to enjoy peoples' company and not be all mysterious and broody" Qrow let out a barking laugh at that which only drew his sisters' ire towards him

"Oh did Summer say something that you of all people found amusing….How is your spot on the roof at this time of year?" Qrow sputtered at that and shifted his weight as made to lean over and retort only for an unsettling creaking from the branch to have him leaping to the ground instead

"And as for you" Raven sighed, pointing at Taiyang "I honestly don't know….I've never tried to make a portal to you before, I just knew instinctively that I could" Tai searched for a reply to that and found none, meaning that the only sound between the four of them was Summer letting out an 'Awww' which caused Raven to both glare and blush profusely, the latter of which left Summer in open mouthed shock as she would never have believed it possible before that moment

"Okay" she breathed out, quickly refocusing and moving the conversation away from Raven's growing discomfort "The last photo was crap because of bad timing, so let's try again"

Summer was pleased when none of her team-mates, not even Raven complained and within a matter of moments a new photograph of Team STRQ had been taken, one where Summer leaned against a tree, face obscured by her hood and cape still swirling around her somewhat as she used her Semblance to be in two places at once, Taiyang and Raven faced each other and gave the camera soft smiles whilst both managed to convey their own power and confidence and stood on Raven's opposite side Qrow hefted Harbinger over one shoulder in an attempt to appear imposing.

To Summer the picture was perfect, her team-mates who had become her family readily agreed with her and it was one that for years to come each member of Team STRQ would carry a copy of on their person at all times; showing it to their respective children when they were old enough to appreciate it with the declaration that Team STRQ were in fact the coolest team to ever graduate from Beacon.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Author's Notes:

Okay so first of all the full prompt/chapter title is "Photos taken five seconds before disaster" but that's a little too long and doesn't roll off of the tongue especially well.  
Secondly, I promised you in the author's notes of the last chapter that I had an emotional gut-punch lined up for you here and I think that ending delivered on the promise.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
Yay for time skips.  
Okay but seriously though, can somebody give Qrow some food? The man looks like those sandwiches in Vol.5 were the only thing he's eaten for a while….Also, let's all take a moment to appreciate our Nan's cooking.  
The times skip outfits should be familiar, I was describing the ones we see Team STRQ wearing both in the photo of them as students and with the exception of Qrow's new look, in the present.  
It isn't a plot point but Raven growing steadily more powerful and important within the Branwen Tribe in the background is just fun to note.  
Raven and Tai are just the "Someone will die….Of fun" meme.  
"Can't noodle".  
How often do you think Qrow loses his Scroll, or his keys, or his wallet?  
Headcanon that that one Team STRQ photo is extra important because they just never had that many of them.  
Coolest team and Cape Buddies, yay for callbacks.  
You know damn well Tai would be the one to say "Are we there yet?".  
The banter and antics between the four of them just goofing around for a while was honestly fun to write.  
Mountain Glenn is still under construction at this point….I was actually debating having Tai make an offhanded comment about his parents moving there but I decided against it.  
With how much of Mountain Glenn was underground it was almost certainly intended to be a mining settlement, which likely means Dust, which in turn likely means SDC which in turn means underpaid and mistreated Faunus workers; the chain of inferences makes sense.  
Raven is too cool for this, whatever this happens to be at any given moment.  
If you're Hunting in a forest and you have the twins at your disposal then it makes sense to send them to do recon first.  
The way to Raven's heart is through her stomach….First thing she offered Yang when she got to the camp was food.  
Oh you didn't really think the first photo was going to go well did you?  
Tai sounded blunt but Qrow needed to hear that before he spiralled.  
I had to have Tai make another pun.  
The Grimm is based off of the Kaiming Shou, a creature from Chinese mythology with the body of a tiger and nine human heads that's said to guard a specific mountain, I based my version from a specific piece of artwork I saw on Google. I wanted something from Chinese Mythology as a counter to Taiyang, the Chinese Dragon who was originally going to be even more prominent in the fight than he ended up being. Also, I'm aware that cultural appropriation is a thing and I apologise if I've inadvertently offended any Chinese people with this….though in my defence when I searched for more information on this creature almost everything I found was about its' appearance in a video game.  
Dust and recoil as a lift off….Like Ruby has been doing since the Red Trailer, she did learn from him after all.  
'Attempted Murder'….Because Qrow and Raven are two corvids, not quite a- never mind.  
And now we get to see how Summer uses Scatter in a battle situation; when I say it's like Ruby's but area of effect rather than linear I imagine Summer almost behaving like a ferrofluid in that state.  
I told you I'd make the "Knuckle Dust-ers" pun in the story itself, and brining back that move he pulled in the initiation seemed like the best time.  
Oh you thought I had fun thinking about what Summer's Semblance could be, check this out. Yeah 'Floodgates' is like Yang's Semblance but is, you guessed it, an area of effect shock-wave rather than a punch; also lightning instead of fire just because storm dragons are a thing in Chinese mythology and I wanted a different visual cue; it also works thematically and for his characters as Taiyang carries the load until he cracks and crumples under it.  
Two things there, one Raven now has the version of Omen we see her with in the present and the fact that she opened a portal to someone other than Qrow.  
Okay, I swear to you that this isn't me reaching but the "Hey" was a Vol.4 callback, specifically to Qrow jumping into stop Tyrian and then giving Ruby the nonchalant "Hey"  
You know that using portals and bird-forms in tandem to airdrop someone was a tactic Team STRQ abused the hell out of.  
Okay so you know in the Vol.4 trailer where Ruby does that hero landing and crushes a statue, yeah that but scaled up.  
Paperwork, the true many headed beast of this story.  
Oh the Tai & Raven ship is leaving port now.  
I'm sorry but Qrow cannot laugh at anyone else getting called out for being broody and emo.  
And there it is...The photo Summer took is THE Team STRQ photo, the one that Qrow and Taiyang both have copies of and Raven almost certainly still has a copy of as well.

Thank you to MajorBrony95, Merendinoemiliano and SumoSnipe for their reviews on the last chapter.  
Can I be honest here, I'd prefer it if you didn't use my comments section as a place to promote or workshop ideas for your own upcoming story.  
Raven being able to get people to a medic does get mentioned, as well as some set up for her rise to power and why the tribe we saw is much smaller and less organised than what it seems like here.  
Yeah, Qrow came from a tribe that genuinely did have a sense of community and most children were raised by the entire tribe; being set apart from that and knowing exactly why left him craving any kind of connection he can get.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review


	6. Out Of Hell, Finally

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Day Six: Out Of Hell, Finally**

Time had flown by, as it often did in a way that baffled the perceptions of those experiencing it upon looking back and Team STRQ's third and penultimate year as students of Beacon Academy was rapidly drawing to a close.

To say that the four of them had continued to grow, going from strength to strength and developing as people whilst also enjoying almost every moment of it that they had spent together would almost seem like an understatement.

The four of them had travelled to Atlas to compete in the Vytal Tournament which was being held in the icy and desolate Kingdom for this iteration and as well as reuniting with familiar faces such as James Ironwood, who had lost a hand on a mission yet had continued towards his goals relentlessly and students from Haven and Shade Academies that they had not seen since they were First Year students Team STRQ had performed magnificently; finishing third overall whilst both teams competing in the final had been Fourth Year students, a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact that they had done so without the use of Branwen twins' magical shape-shifting abilities which they had been warned to keep secret by Professor Ozpin, prompting Raven to note privately and bitterly that had they been allowed to fight unrestrained they would have been declared the champions. In all academic and practical aspects of becoming Professional Hunters they had excelled, taking on new subjects and completing several training missions with such skill that the name 'Team STRQ' was already beginning to be discussed in the Hunter community at large by those eager to watch their careers unfold.

On a more personal level Qrow and Summer had grown steadily closer, though neither of them had seen fit to name or quantify whatever it was that was going on between them and it had simply become accepted amongst their friends and fellow students that the pair would often be seen holding hands or giggling at some private joke or that they would occasionally fall asleep in the midst of an all night study session under a blanket together.

Summer had continued to grow as a leader, not just of her own team but had found herself entirely unexpectedly becoming something of a mentor to the younger students, especially those First and Second Year students of Beacon who had qualified for the tournament and travelled to Atlas and were desperate for a familiar face and she found herself dealing with their homesickness and personal problems as much as their studies. Qrow on the other hand had, entirely predictably found the stifling culture of Atlas far too restrictive for his tastes and had spent a great deal of his admittedly limited free time in the under-city of Mantle where he had found an unexpected kinship with the natives; the poor, downtrodden and oppressed who waged a bitter campaign against the uncaring Kingdom that ruled over them from on high in whatever capacity they could striking a chord with the former bandit and reminding him of the best of the tribe that he had left.

Things were not without issue or complication however.

Taiyang and Raven had continued to grow closer upon journeying to Atlas and Summer had found herself giving the pair knowing and approving smiles as it seemed to be only a matter of time until one of them overcame their nervous inhibitions and they began dating as friendly banter and sniping at one another had become opening flirting; much to Qrow's open and vocal disdain and Summer's giddy amusement. Things had suddenly taken a turn for the worst however when shortly after Team STRQ; more specifically Raven herself had been defeated in a singles round of the Vytal Tournament and her relationship with Taiyang seemed to devolve into at first long awkward silences and then bickering and arguments with none of their previous playfulness over a matter of a few short days. Summer had initially hoped that it was simply a matter of Raven's pride and ego being bruised as she fell short of the standards she imposed on herself that would rectify itself in time yet the arguments showed no sign of abating any time soon.

As was proven by the fact the pair were in the midst of their dozenth argument that week, on a Wednesday evening.

"Taiyang you blonde Beringrel did you use the last of my conditioner?" Raven demanded as she stalked out the bathroom with her hair wrapped in towel and her eyes blazing with anger, Summer and Qrow both let out an audible gulp at the sight and braced themselves as they knew the seriousness with which Raven would respond to any perceived crime against her hair.

"Are you accusing me of 'monkey business'" Taiyang asked in an off-hand and uninterested way as he continued to play some video game or other on a handheld console whilst sat on his bunk, a far less comfortable thing than the beds they had at Beacon. Summer and Qrow glanced between the two of them and saw that Tai was pointedly not looking at Raven, deliberately ignoring her continued glare until finally the feeling of her eyes boring into the side of his skull became unbearable.

"No Raven, I didn't use your conditioner" he sighed, setting the game down and giving his partner a truly disparaging look "And if you're going to complain about things being stolen I have a pot and a kettle that you should meet"

"Don't compare what I do to your pranks" Raven snapped, understanding the idiom well enough to be insulted by the comparison

"Why? Suddenly it's okay when you do it?"

"And here we have it" Raven hissed venomously "The usual self righteous nonsense"

"That's not….I don't even-" Taiyang sputtered, face screwing up in confusion as he tried to make sense of this sudden change of tact before he lost track of the argument completely

"Taiyang decides the rules, Taiyang knows what's best" Raven "Taiyang throws himself in front of me and stops me from attacking so he can use his Semblance and be the heroic Hunter in front of the class!"

"Oh that's what this is about!" the blonde exclaimed, hopping off of his bunk and striding towards his partner, with a bitterly amused laugh spilling from him "You're seriously upset about combat training? You're seriously upset that I saved-"

"That you interfered!"

"We're partners!"

"I HAD A PLAN!"

"JAMES HAD YOU PINNED AND WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU OUT WITH HIS NEXT SHOT! YOU WOULD HAVE LOST!" neither of them had intended for this to end in yelling yet their voices echoed off the walls until a sudden slamming sound jolted them both into silence and the pair, still too angry to be properly abashed at their outburst realised that they were alone; the slamming had been the dorm window being forcefully closed as Summer and Qrow used it to leave in a dramatic huff, Summer with her Semblance and Qrow by simply flying.

"I'm going to bed" Taiyang sighed, suddenly ashamed that their argument had been enough for their friends to flee "I don't want to argue with you"

"Fine" Raven muttered, retreating towards the bathroom where she remained for far longer than was strictly necessary as simple avoidance became serious introspection and she tried to understand exactly what was going on between her and her partner.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Classes had been an awkward affair for Team STRQ the following day, the four of them conducting themselves in a near silence that was far more strained and awkward than the usual effortless efficiency that they usually displayed to such a degree that even their fellow students had noticed it, though if the faculty had sensed anything was amiss they had said nothing, likely a product of Atlesian stoicism and the lack of interpersonal relationships that those from the icy Kingdom seemed to favour.

Eventually their lessons and lectures had ended and Team STRQ had gone their separate ways, though not before Summer had pulled Qrow aside and asked him if he could speak with his sister about what was going on between her and Taiyang; something that Qrow had agreed to as the feeling that things could not be allowed to continue as they were was one that they shared and currently the Branwen twins were in some undisclosed location whilst Summer had made her way to Atlas Academies' workshop, a truly expansive place that could only be rightfully considered a marvel of technology which featured adjacent forges and laboratories all of which put Beacon Academies' facilities to shame. With no more missions left to embark on for the semester Summer was free to work on her weapon without worrying that it might be urgently needed at short notice; she had always intended to make the most her time in Atlas and that included improving Shatter-Moon in ways that she would be unable to do elsewhere and there was no amount of arguments or moping from her friends that would be able to change that.

Though Taiyang seemed determined to try

"Wait" he sighed, tapping a particularly delicate instrument against the surface of a workbench in a way that made Summer's eye twitch dangerously "Explain it to me again….you're trying to do what to your hammer?"

"I've already improved the sniper-rifle mode as much as I can without a complete overhaul and redesign, recoil, power, capacity everything….Unless I wanted to, I don't know put a grenade launcher in there as well there's not really anything I can do with it" she began before rolling out several unspeakably complex blueprints and pointing to several key elements of them, a bright, yet vicious smile crossing her face as she did so "But the hammer can be worked on….Okay so you've seen the hard-light shields Atlas uses right?"

"Uh huh, the ones that buzz all the time and gave me migraines for the first week here" Taiyang noted, concern creeping into his voice at the thought of what Summer might be planning

"Okay, well hard-light can actually be programmed and sculpted into other shapes" Summer's look of demented joy only became more pronounced "I can turn my hammer into a giant hammer without even making it any heavier by fitting emitters in the right places"

"So….you want a giant cartoon clown hammer?" Tai asked dully

"Would you like to be the clown that gets hammered?" Summer offered in saccharine voice that made no effort to hide how serious the threat of immediate and gratuitous retaliation was.

"Okay, so what do you need me here for?" her blonde friend sighed, resting his elbows on the bench as he sagged over it, at a loss to why Summer would want his help for something like this; he had built and maintained his own weapons and often worked on his motorbike but this was leagues ahead of the simple but reliable and easily fixed approach that he favoured.

"To try and convince you to put some guns on your gauntlets….but mainly to stop you and Raven from killing each other" Summer told him bluntly before letting out an exasperated sigh "What is going on with you two….I thought you were doing great?"

"Yeah so did I" Tai muttered, leaning even further forward to rest face down on the workbench

"What happened?" Tai looked away from Summer at the question and she quickly realised that he was working out what he could tell her and how much of it, which Summer found extremely curious but resolved to not push for more information than she was given unless she felt that a member of her team was at risk in some way.

"I mean things have been weird since the tournament" he sighed "I stayed with her in the medical wing while they were patching her up and she was pissed, which I completely get but she's just been snapping and pushing me away any time I try and do anything for her….I offered to carry Omen for her when her arm was in a cast that night"

"I mean you don't touch someone's weapon so I kinda get it, but at the same time you asked" Summer shrugged, setting her tools down and devoting her attention to her friends' problems "She was really upset last night though Tai….this is something that's been building up"

"You saw the sparring match" Taiyang grumbled "She was gonna get herself hurt"

"She said she had a plan?" Summer noted

"Yeah, I mean I'm guessing she was gonna portal and counter-attack, but everyone has seen that move a dozen times now; she wouldn't have the element of surprise….It was too risky so I put myself in front of her to take the shot"

"Okay….I kinda get it" Summer nodded slowly, the beginnings of the root of the problem beginning to come to light in her mind "But you did something kinda similar in that mission we went on the when her arm was fresh out of the cast; you tackled her out of the way and told her to stay put….how many times have you taken a shot for her and used it to power up your Semblance?"

"I mean a few, but that's always-" Taiyang's face dropped and the colour vanished from it in an instant "Oh….Oh no, she thinks that I'm trying to say she isn't capable? Summer that's-"

"I know that" the caped Huntress sighed gently "But does she?….You know where they come from Tai, you know how they were raised 'The weak die' remember; I don't want to speak on her behalf but I think she thinks that you're coddling her and right after she lost in the Vytal Tournament and she was already upset at herself….that probably undermined whatever confidence she had left

"Damn it, what do I do?" Taiyang whispered, utterly aghast

"You talk her you dork" Summer snorted "Just clear the air and make sure you both know how you feel"

"Raven's one of the coolest people I've ever met" Taiyang answered earnestly and without hesitation "She's amazing at what she does, I mean who else uses solid Dust blades as a weapon? She's a bad-ass and half of our team attacks rely on her….Team STRQ couldn't function without her. I mean come on Summer she's just cool, not in the 'I'm too cool for this' way she tries to be either, I mean she is genuinely-what?"

"No, no, don't mind me at all, keep going let's get to the bottom of all the sexual tension between you two" Summer cackled, relishing the way her friends' cheeks coloured and he nervously rubbed at the back of his neck upon realising that he had let his thoughts run away with him

"You're a pest sometimes, y'know that half-pint?"

"Tell her what you just told me" she continued, silver eyes twinkling with mischief "Tell her all of that, it'll be great"

"How does so much evil fit in such a small body" Taiyang sighed dramatically, only for Summer to stick her tongue out at him in response before becoming more serious

"But no really, go and talk to her….Rae can be scary and kinda boneheaded but she'll listen. She doesn't really want to be fighting with you either"

"Okay, yeah I'll do that"

"Go, I'll get her to come to you if you can't find her" Summer offered and watched as Taiyang considered for only a moment before departing, allowing her to return to the task of upgrading her weapon though as she did so she couldn't help but wonder what else had gone on between her two friends that she had not been told.

She didn't want to be nosey, but she was still their Chief Dork-Herder after all.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of blades clashing against each other filled the freezing air and seemed to echo out into the vast, open and featureless expanse of the Solitas tundra, punctuated by the sound of harsh and ragged breathing as Qrow and Raven circled one another like wild animals; each searching for the merest hint of an opening to launch another assault.

They lunged with no outward warning, as though some invisible signal had passed between them.

Snow was churned up around them with the force of their charges and the twins each readied their weapons as they drew closer, with Raven's fingers tightening around Omen as she prepared to unsheathe her weapon for a single decisive blow whilst Qrow gave Harbinger several twirls and flourishes to distract from his true intentions though the telltale sound of the weapons mechanisms gave his plans away and Raven leapt gracefully into the air as he struck; his sword unfurled into its' scythe form she landed in a crouch on the flat of its' blade preparing to launch herself forwards and deliver a knee strike to his face before following up with a slash, yet misfortune struck and Raven was sent toppling to the ground as she lost her footing.

Qrow brought his scythe down in a wide arc, the tip of its' blade aimed at the crown of Raven's skull yet never reaching her as she finally unsheathed her sword and revealed its' current blade to be one made of pure Lightning Dust which shattered as it was hooked into the workings of Harbinger's blade and gears, stunning Qrow and almost forcing him to drop the weapon as electricity crackled over its' surface, giving his sister enough of an opening to kick him in the gut and send him skidding backwards. Qrow recovered quickly and in an instant his weapon was in its' shotgun form and he opened fire, with Raven using her bird form to evade and come swooping towards him until finally he was forced to take to his own avian form and flap aside as she dove and slashed through the space he had occupied with a Hard-Light Dust blade which sent a rippling wave of semi-solid and glowing, pulsating light out from its' epicentre. Qrow landed behind her and Raven swiftly shifted to a solid metal blade and whirled around, the two of them blocking, parrying exchanging dozens of blows in mere seconds until Raven finally chose to use her Semblance in an underhanded manner and create a portal directly behind her brother from which she swept his legs out from under him and promptly thrust her sword under his chin as he tried to recover

"That was hardly fair" Qrow noted with an annoyed huff

"Fair hardly matters to a corpse" she retorted with a mocking grin before reaching out and pulling him to his feet "Now are you finally going to tell me why you brought me out here?"

"So we can talk without you putting on act" Qrow growled. The sparring had indeed been fun, Qrow still and likely always would prefer training that had actual weight and consequences behind it than the tame and sanitised substitutes that the Professors insisted on; their current foray into the tundra however was entirely in service of his promise to Summer to get the bottom of Ravens recent problems. Qrow had initially debated on taking his sister on a trip into Mantle, perhaps so that the two of them could lend their aid to those whose circumstances were dire enough to see them living in the Crater itself or simply into one of the many gloomy dive bars within the under-city, though those ideas had been dismissed with a wince as he recalled Summer's concerned comments on his drinking habits; Atlesian liquor was strong and Qrow had been enjoying more of it than was probably wise of late and so the two of them had simply made their way out into the bleak and inhospitable emptiness beyond the cities' borders and trained.

"Ah so this is about the imbecile….Summer's idea I presume?" Raven sneered, scorn dripping from every word as she realised Qrow's intentions.

"If Summer hadn't asked to me I would have anyway" Qrow told her, his words reassuring as he placed a hand on her shoulder "Rae when have we ever kept secrets from each other?"

"I didn't know you planned to leave the tribe until you were ready to go" Raven countered without hesitation, leaving Qrow caught off-guard by both the touch of hostility in her voice and the fact that his sister had seemingly kept score of every perceived slight against her; the tribe demanded blood for insults against their honour true enough, but this felt excessive.

"Okay fine, you've got me there" he sighed "But that's not what we're talking about….You and Tai worked great together-"

"Apparently not"

"Damn it Raven" Qrow ground out through clenched teeth "Will you just talk, they're not just your problems when they're making life hell for the rest of us so what's wrong….When did things fall apart?"

"Probably around the time I kissed him" Raven admitted, angling her face so that much of it was hidden behind hair that blew in the freeing winds so that she might hide just how much of the redness of her cheeks had nothing to do with the cold, Qrow for his part managed to choke on air and considered it a small mercy that they had not gone drinking for he would certainly have sprayed alcohol out of his nose upon hearing that

"You did what?" he demanded, laughing hysterically

"Oh grow up Qrow, I let you and Summer be" Raven snapped, silencing her brother and letting out a groan of frustration before adding "It was after my last fight in the Vytal Tournament….I was out of my mind on painkillers and I had a concussion, he was being a pest; sweet, caring, funny but still a pest. I didn't plan to do it"

"And now what, you regret it?" Qrow asked, entirely unsure of how to proceed with this conversation

"He keeps giving me more and more reasons to" Raven chuckled bitterly, shaking her head and sighing as she continued "He must think I'm the damsel in one of those ridiculous action movies, that I'm going to be relegated to being some demure weakling-"

"Raven what, pray tell the fuck are you talking about?" Qrow demanded bluntly, arching an eyebrow and trying his best not laugh at her stunned expression

"You've seen how he's been treating me Qrow, trying to keep me out of combat; jumping in front of me when I clearly had the enemy under control, expecting me to hang back and sit on the sidelines….He think I'm incapable, that I need to be saved"

"Do you honestly believe that?" Qrow asked, genuinely confused and torn between amusement and utter despair at his twins' point of view "Raven, did it never occur to you that you partner of three years….who very clearly has feelings for you would be willing to jump in front of an attack meant for you with no questions or expectations"

"I don't need to be protect-"

"Raven you should have left the tribe with me" Qrow's words silenced her and hung heavy in the air for several moments as the Branwen twins stared at each other in silence; Qrow silently begging his sister to see reason whilst Raven simply remained inscrutable.

"You're strong Raven, you always have been….but you don't have to be with Tai, with any of us" Qrow told her, his voice barely more than a whisper but heard clearly despite the howling winds

"You should know this by now; the tribe give you honours and favour because you're powerful, because of your Semblance and what you've done for them….Taiyang genuinely cares for you because of who you are as a person; for reasons that escape me"

"Ingrate" Raven snorted, picking up on the joking tone in her brothers' final words "I never thought I'd hear my brother playing matchmaker for me"

"Date him or don't, I only want you to be happy….Although I'll take whatever escape from the sexual tension in our dorm I can get" Qrow shrugged nonchalantly "Just talk to him and make sure you both understand each other"

"Okay, okay fine I'll do that" Raven nodded, surprising Qrow first with how easily she accepted the advice and secondly with the fact she opened a portal there and then which she promptly stepped through, only to catch her brother unawares as she reappeared behind him and wrapped her arms around him for hug which he relaxed into; at which point Raven promptly swept his legs out from beneath him again and left him face down in the snow

"You're getting too trusting" she laughed before finally vanishing through a new portal, presumably returning to the city in the sky above them all. Qrow for his part merely chuckled and ran his hand through his hair in a gesture that had become his signature, content in the knowledge that he would have the last laugh.

He had been the one to steal Raven's conditioner after all and he was so pleased with the results that would likely steal her hair products more often.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taiyang had returned to the dormitory Team STRQ had been residing in whilst in Atlas but had never quite come to consider their own after his attempts to locate his partner had failed; Raven had not been in the canteen, Atlas Academies' undeniably impressive if somewhat clinical training area where she could often be found honing her skills or in any of the locations on campus that she frequented for the truly spectacular views they offered. Taiyang had initially debated calling Raven herself to find out where she was but had been uncertain as to whether she would even answer, furthermore he wanted to speak to her in person and a Scroll call was just not the same so instead he had contacted Summer only to learn that the twins had almost certainly left the campus and she was not sure when they would return.

He found himself granted a reprieve however when the dorm was cast a bloody red glow by the familiar sight of a swirling crimson portal being torn into existence as Raven returned, something that Taiyang smiled at upon realising that his partner had used her Semblance to find him specifically; hastily clambering from his bunk he found his nerve suddenly failing him as he and Raven locked eyes, both of them uncertain and yet intent and the pair took a deep breath to steady themselves before speaking in almost perfect unison

"I'm sorry"

"Huh?" Tai cocked his head in open confusion, Raven verbally apologising to anyone surely qualified as a minor miracle at the very least

"I said I'm sorry" Raven repeated, the familiar aloofness finding its' way back into her voice as though the act of giving an apology were something she needed to defend herself against

"I've been….I misunderstood the situation and reacted to a problem that wasn't there; I shouldn't have"

"You should have just spoken to me" Taiyang admonished with no hint of anger or hurt, managing a weak chuckle as he stepped closer towards her "And I get it, you thought I was trying to undermine you, that I thought less of you after the tournament and that I thought I couldn't rely on you….Rae I promise you none of that is true"

"I know that now" she breathed out, almost a hiss of annoyance at herself "I just….I've had to be strong, be reliable for so long, having that challenged or threatened….It scares me, because it's such a huge part of who I am and I don't really know who I am without it"

"Oh" Taiyang mouthed, taken aback momentarily by the sudden openness and naked honesty from his partner though he quickly recovered and gently reached out, giving her upper arm a reassuring squeeze "Rae you're one of the strongest and most capable, reliable people I know, but that's not even close to all of what you are"

"Thank you" Raven's cheeks flushed a little yet she made no effort to move his arm, grinning slightly "I suppose I made the right choice when I picked you as my partner back in the Emerald Forest….Even if we do have communication problems"

"Well we're communicating now" the blonde noted, throat suddenly dry and heart hammering in his chest as he dared to push the conversation further "Why did you kiss me?"

"Well Tai, when two people like each other very much-" Raven trailed off with a vague hand gesture and Taiyang found himself laughing despite the tension that had been steadily mounting between them

"Come on Rae I'm a big boy, if you were whacked out on painkillers and you regret it now then it's cool; just say so and we'll never bring it up again" Raven had another jeering taunt on the tip of her tongue and ready to be administered when she paused and considered, looking at her partner for several long moments and realising that he was being entirely honest, something that both surprised her and in turn left her wondering why she was surprised as Taiyang's earnestness was one of the more endearing thing about him.

She decided to respond in kind.

"You're half right Tai" she answered sauntering into his personal space as she spoke "The medication definitely played a part in it, but I can't honestly say I regretted it….It was something I'd been thinking about for a while"

"Oh, I, uh-" Tai stammered out and it was all Raven could do to maintain any of her composure at all as she watched the gears in his mind come grinding to an abrupt halt; taking the silence as her opportunity she closed the distance between them and forced herself to ignore her doubts and fears and simply act, loosely wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and the back of his neck

"You're the kindest person I've ever met, brave, noble, insufferably heroic; there's no trickery or ulterior motives with you, you just are the way you are and you manage to be funny even when I wish you weren't….I trust you, I care deeply for you" she paused and met his eyes, making certain that there could be no misunderstanding "And I want to do this"

Then she kissed him.

It was a brief thing, her lips gently brushing against his for just long enough for him to break through his own stunned confusion and his hands to find their way to her hips before she pulled back and the two of them rested their foreheads against one another; not meeting one another's eyes but simply allowing the warmth and contentment to envelop them for a moment until Raven chose to be the one to break the peaceful silence

"So….I assume that you're okay with this?" her voice was a faintly amused purr as she melted into their embrace a little more

"Absolutely" Taiyang beamed, looking at Raven with a wide smile that she just knew would be a precursor to one of his accursed jokes

"So, Raven if we're dating?" he began and she mentally braced herself "Does that make you my….'chick'" He let out a muffled squawk and the two of them toppled backwards as Raven pounced and kissed him again, far more fiercely this time.

It was an effective way to shut him up.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm serious it aches like hell" Qrow grumbled

"You should have waited for a transport then you big baby" Summer countered in a singsong voice

"From Mantle? You think they have reliable public transport down there, they barely have heat and plumbing?" he griped, making a dramatic show of slouching downwards as he did so; highlighting Summer's own lack of height by showing how far he had to stoop to be at her eyeline, a gesture which she she in turn pouted and huffed at.

Qrow had called his partner to inform her that Raven had left him and had therefore almost certainly gone in search of Taiyang, Summer had updated him on the situation as she understood it and the two of them had noted that they should give their team-mates some privacy for a while; at that point Qrow had used the magic of his avian form to simply fly back to Atlas, it was much higher and farther than he usually flew and had led to his current round of complaints as the strain had left his arms and back in considerable discomfort as he and Summer meandered aimlessly around the campus, the caped Huntress more than once trying to persuade him to give him a piggyback ride but settling for the two of them walking through the corridors loosely holding hands.

"Think it's safe to go back yet?" Summer asked, a modicum of genuine concern tingeing her bemusement as the two of them drew close to the hallway that their dormitory was located on

"I mean nobody's called you to say that the dorm is on fire yet so things can't be going that badly" Qrow noted with a snort, it was a given that Raven and Taiyang both sincerely wanted to repair their relationship but it was also entirely possible that upon trying to do so their personalities would clash once again meaning that their team-mates were unsure of exactly what they would find upon their return to the dorm, though Qrow and Summer took the lack of yelling spilling out into the corridor as a promising sign and continued joking amongst themselves, paying little attention to their surroundings until Summer unlocked and opened the dormitory door.

A grave mistake

"OH MY GOSH I'M SORRY!" Summer yelped out, hands flying to her mouth as she hurtled back through the doorway in retreat, allowing Qrow to glimpse what had caused the reaction and let out a slew of curses at the sight of Raven straddling her partner on her bunk, clothing conspicuously absent from the upper half of her body though Omen was in reach and crimson eyes narrowed dangerously as she aimed the sheathe in her friends general direction; an unspoken but well understood threat to fire a blade at them if they didn't close the door immediately

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Summer panted out, cheeks crimson as she and Qrow fled the scene until finally she doubled over cackling uncontrollably

"This isn't funny" Qrow groaned "I could have gone my whole life without seeing that-"

"Oh come on, we both knew they liked each other" Summer countered, still struggling to control her hysterics "You said you were okay with it-"

"Not in our dorm!" Qrow exclaimed, running a hand through his hair and sporting a horrified look "Not where we sleep Summer, I don't want to wake up to the sound of 'grunting'"

"Okay that's fair" Summer admitted, wrinkled her nose a little at the vulgarity before reaching up on her tiptoes and bringing her face close to her partners' whilst wearing a truly manic smile "But look at it this way, the nonsense is over!…..no more sexual tension, they finally dealt with it! We're out of hell, finally!"

Qrow merely let out another groan, convinced that his own hell was just beginning.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Author's Notes:

I'm gonna be honest, this prompt was the one I enjoyed writing for the least; I had the idea but this kind of drama and tension relies almost entirely on characters not talking to each other and considering dialogue and characterisations are (According to my readers) two of the things I'm good at, it's kinda jarring for me.  
Also….Y'know how I said I was only gonna do six days of this challenge; well I've got day seven coming for you tomorrow, so look forward to it.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
Another time-skip to the end of the year, there's definitely more stories I can tell between each of these challenges but I honestly doubt I will.  
I don't think Ironwood got all of his prosthetics in one incident, now that we know his Semblance I think it was a case of him constantly pushing through his injuries again and again and losing more and more of himself.  
I honestly wasn't even tempted to make Team STRQ overall tournament winners, but they definitely did well enough to be considered "Ones to watch" by the pros.  
Qrow and Summer loves each other, everyone on Team STRQ did but were they in love….I like to think not even they knew.  
Summer being something of a teacher before Tai was and Qrow hating Atlesian culture and hanging out in Mantle as a student just seem to make sense.  
'Blonde Beringrel'….Oh boy, the nonsense is starting.  
Look all I'm saying is Raven always has a fresh excuse locked and loaded when one collapses and I like to image she's the same on the other side of an argument as well, whatever started the argument was just the straw that broke the camels' back but she has plenty of other things filed away.  
Summer hit the 'Sexual tension: Emergency exit' button and took Qrow with her.  
I have my own opinions and theories on how Atlesian culture affects the way it trains its' Hunters.  
You didn't think Raven was the only one getting a weapon upgrade did you?….And yes the comment about the grenade launcher was a nod to Magnhild.  
Guns on your gauntlets….a nod to Ember Celica.  
See this is why I don't like writing this kind of drama, the entire situation could have been avoided if people just had normal conversations; that being said it does actually work as yet another parallel to Blake and Yang, this is basically the Blake and Yang "I'll protect you" debacle in Vol.6.  
Summer speaks ancient wisdom and has earned the right to be a Gremlin to the dorks she herds.  
Wasn't actually sure how to start the scene and honestly, a sparring match between the twins is as good a way as any.  
Raven using her Semblance as a weapon against the people she's closest to….Nope, no symbolism there, no sir.  
I could break all of your hearts with a story about Qrow keeping his drinking in check until first Raven and then Summer left and then finally deciding he had no reason to keep trying and giving up on himself.  
Raven definitely does keep score of old grudges….But at the same time, I can understand why she'd be upset about that one.  
Of course she kissed him, of course there's high-school drama involved; that's also what Tai was keeping his mouth shut about because he's a gent. He doesn't kiss and tell, not even to Summer.  
I had to bring back the what, pray tell line.  
I didn't really understand or appreciate it until I wrote Qrow saying she should leave but Raven is a mirror to Blake and THE TRIBE ARE HER WHITE FANG and while they both ran from there partners but only one of them came back, Blake escaped Adam, Raven can't truly bring herself to leave the tribe.  
You didn't think Raven was gonna take the jab about sexual tension lying down?  
Of course it was Qrow who stole her hair products, the only one brave enough to steal from a Branwen is another Branwen.  
Seriously though, how often do you think Raven has actually said the word Sorry and meant it?  
"I've had to be strong, be reliable for so long, having that challenged or threatened….It scares me, because it's such a huge part of who I am I don't know who I am without it" she's a mirror to Blake but let's be honest, that line was just pure Yang.  
Enjoy, have the cute ship moment; I just wish we could get more insight into the mechanics of Team STRQ worked so I could understand how their relationship happened.  
Of course he made a fucking pun.  
I think we all understand tropes enough to understand exactly what was going to happen when Qrow and Summer walked into the dorm.  
Of course Qrow is unlucky enough to see his sister in that position….Still, there's worse things he could have walked in on them doing.  
Summer and Qrow have opposite opinions and in a way, they're both right.

Thank you to MajorBrony95, Merendinoemiliano and SumoSnipe for their reviews on the last chapter.  
Grandparents are a universal experience.  
Qrow's music and poetry definitely had a lot of inspiration from the tribe and with the way I'm imagining the Tribe pre-Raven's leadership….Imagine the music being something like Wardruna or Geraldyr.  
Yeah Ozpin definitely draws some inspiration from Odin; in Norse mythology Odin sacrificed an eye for knowledge and has a pair of Ravens who fly all over the world to bring him information; Ozpin sacrificed a chunk of his remaining magic to give Qrow and Raven the ability to turn into birds and their emblems are literally winged eyes; also there was Salem's "The last eye is blinded" line in Vol.4.  
The Kaiming Shou is from Chinese mythology.  
Hummingbird is never gonna be "Explicitly" stated to be canon in this series, just more implied that the two of them love each other and whether that's romanitcally or platonically is up in the air.  
Yeah, working the twins magic abilities into team moves probably took some time….But we can't rule out that Summer just wanted to go hiking and looking for cool stuff to take photos of and her teams of dorks just had to deal with it.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review


	7. Happy Endings

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Day Seven: Happy Endings**

It was finally upon them, Team STRQ stood upon the same stage that they had for the first time at their initiation four years ago with Headmaster Professor Ozpin once again before them, delivering a moving oratory to the gathered audience and as the spotlights focused on them each of the four Hunters couldn't help but feel that their undeniably immense happiness was bittersweet as they realised that whilst they were embarking on a new beginning today was also and ending.

Team STRQ had graduated from Beacon Academy.

Their fourth and final year had been a blur of preparations for gruelling missions, crushing exams and a haze of hours upon hours spent in the library, researching and compiling data and interviewing more experienced Hunters so that they could craft a thesis which they had then successfully debated and defended, yet despite the inhumane and Herculean workload that had been thrust upon them they had still found time to continue living their lives outside of academia.

Qrow and Summer had continued much as they had done for so long now, neither of them feeling a need to name or define their relationship and simply accepting that they were each an intrinsic part the others' life, relying on each other both on and off of the battlefield to the point of finishing one another's sentences and often knowing what the other was thinking without so much as a glance, with Summer being a much needed source of optimism in her partners' life whilst Qrow still possessed a hard and ruthless edge that it seemed no amount of time away from the Branwen Tribe would erode, allowing him to combat living opponents with a level of ferocity that Summer reserved for the Creatures of Grimm.

Raven and Taiyang's relationship had bloomed rapidly once the pair had finally acted on feelings whose growth had been suppressed and ignored for far too long with the word love being used often and openly between the two of them; a sign of which could be seen on Taiyang's right bicep in the form of a new tattoo that Raven had designed and implemented using sharpened sticks dipped in ink. The design incorporated elements of what had been her partners' emblem alongside glyphs and markings used by the Branwen Tribe to create a new stylised marking resembling a dragons' skull, she explained to him that her peoples' language was not to be taught to outsiders even if it was spoken in front of them and was instead a fiercely kept secret amongst their members as it was a firmly held belief that every potential enemy that could understand them represented a weakening of the tribes' defences and as such an act of betrayal; Taiyang understood the seriousness of the gesture and that understanding was only reinforced when Qrow failed to make any jokes or snide comments about his sister branding the blonde.

In return Taiyang had introduced Raven to his family and whilst their had been some initial awkwardness he had been mildly surprised at how well the meeting seemed to go, the Xiao Longs were a small and relatively close knit family after all; having everyone be on good terms with one another felt important. And so as Tai saw his parents in the crowd his smile became even brighter as he realised that they were here for Raven as much as him, with Summer's grandmother sat beside them; though nobody was surprised to see that the Branwen Tribe had sent no delegation or emissaries to witness the graduation.

"Team STRQ, step forward to receive your Hunters' licenses!" Ozpin's booming and magnified voice tore them from their thoughts and, sharing one final serious of nervous and almost disbelieving looks the four of them finally stepped forwards tentatively, as though they feared that some final test would be revealed to them yet one never came and instead their Headmaster simply gave each of them an informal handshake for the sake of appearances whilst peering over his glasses and giving them each a warm and grandfatherly smile as Team STRQ's official certification was given to them

"Holy crap guys!" tears of pure, unadulterated joy spilled down her face as her eyes widened while scanning the licenses "Active class A, right out of the Academy? Has that ever even happened before?" her voice cracked, barely able to articulate her emotions through simple words whilst Raven and Taiyang frantically checked the licenses themselves and Qrow simply pulled Summer into a hug, then lifted her into the air and twirled her around deftly until Ozpin gently interrupted the private moment which was being played out on a stage for all to see

"It is rare, but I defy anyone to find a team more worthy of it" he rested a hand on Summer's shoulder "I've always known you would all go on to do great things, prove me right"

"We will" Summer promised, lip trembling as she fought to keep her composure "I promise we will"

"I look forward to it" Ozpin smiled at each of them warmly "Now, I do believe your friends on Team GOLD would like to receive their own licenses next...Also there is some talk of licenses being digitised and stored on ones' Scroll in the coming years, in the meantime however that paperwork is important"

"Great, so Qrow can have everything he loses in one place" Taiyang noted with a devilish smirk which Qrow simply answered with a silent glare; a moment later Team STRQ had exited the stage and were cheering until their voices were hoarse for first Team GOLD, with Glynda trying her best to look stoic yet unable to keep a smile of pure, unadulterated joy from her face whilst Barty Oobleck was a blur of jittery motion throughout the entire affair and then after that each of the other teams that had formed their class.

Finally the final team, Team ZNIA stepped from the podium and Team STRQ were left glancing between one another, each silently willing one of their friends to be the first to speak and adress the sudden heaviness in the air

"So now what?" Raven asked cautiously "We did it, what now?"

"You know what now" Qrow muttered, an edge of bitterness creeping into his tone "Now we go our separate ways"

"Hey, it's not like that" Tai assured him gently, slapping a palm on his back and giving him a knowing look

"Tai's right, it'll only be a week or so….two weeks tops….not including travel" Summer added, a slight pout of annoyance forming with each additional disclaimer she added yet her words were enough to bring her partner out of his funk and Qrow would be lying if he said that he didn't find Summer's pouting incredibly endearing.

"Before you leave Summer, I have something for you" Raven noted in a hushed tone that was barely more than a whisper, catching her friends off-guard though Qrow quickly recovered and tuned his attention back to his partner

"Alright pipsqueak, you win" he drawled, giving her a lopsided grin and putting his annoyances to the back of his mind. The annoyance in question being the fact that Team STRQ would seemingly forever be at the beck and call of Professor Ozpin, which had been proven beyond doubt when their celebrations at having been offered their first work as real Hunters pending their graduation had been cut short by the Headmaster summoning them to his office and promptly informing Summer and Qrow that he had individual missions for each of them and that Team STRQ would be split up for their first mission outside of the academy.

It had been infuriating but ultimately they had accepted.

"We still haven't answered my question?" Raven noted pointedly "What are we doing now?"

"I mean I wanna go see my Grandma" Summer answered without hesitation, gesturing to where Nana Rose was chatting animatedly with the Xiao Long family

"No way am I going on a mission without a last meal from Nana Rose" Qrow mumbled, earning himself a playful elbow in the ribs from Summer before Taiyang chimed in with a suggestion

"We should definitely do something tonight, we need to celebrate and we can sleep it off on the way to our missions"

"What do you have in mind?" Raven's smile was almost predatory

"The teaching assistant, Port….He actually got his qualifications, he's gonna be teaching full time next year and I know Barty was planning on throwing him a party; everyone's invited"

"I'm in" Summer smiled "Let's go reintroduce everyone to Team STRQ?"

"Reintroduce?" Qrow gave her a quizzical look

"Yeah….now we can officially introduce ourselves as the 'Coolest Team to ever graduate Beacon'"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seemed that Summer's personal mission would end sooner than she had expected one way or another, though that was not to say that it would be a simple or straightforward endeavour.

As if they ever were.

Once Team STRQ had been informed that it would be necessary for them to take separate missions upon their graduation due to their individual skills being needed elsewhere Summer had been privately informed of what awaited her and had immediately understood why Ozpin was taking his current course of action. The Headmaster had been given chilling news though the secretive collective of shadowy individuals who fought a hidden war against Salem and the forces of the Grimm alongside him, specifically from the Headmaster of Shade who had in turn learned it through their own agents operating beyond the desert Kingdoms' borders. The vast expanse of no-man's land that spanned much of Vytal was unexplored in several places simply due to the inhospitable terrain, the Grimm population or even the native mega-fauna and there were several places where towns and villages had simply ceased to be, abandoned or destroyed by the ravages of war of the Grimm with piratical raiders and nomadic Vaccuan clans who had ventured beyond the wastelands prowling and roaming between them yet despite this there were several heavily armoured and defended train lines that carried goods and people between the two Kingdoms on a journey that crossed the continent and cut through dense forests and open plains littered with ravines, gorges and trenches carved into the ground that marked where weapons of mass destruction, including the Relic of Destruction itself had been used in the Great War.

It was in one of those ravines that an annihilation pool had begun to form.

The common name for such phenomena was a 'Spawning Pit' and whilst the Councils of the four Kingdoms were not privy to the same ancient knowledge that Ozpin and his cohorts were it was still largely understood that they were the primordial darkness from which the Creatures of Grimm were birthed and that such a thing occurring so perilously close to the main link between two Kingdoms could simply not go unanswered, as such several teams of Hunters had been deployed only for each of them to fall silent and vanish in turn with their fates assumed to have been violent; it was at this point Ozpin had requested that a more cautious scouting operation be conducted and the results had been enlightening in a terrible way, where most Spawning Pits produced an endless sea of monsters this one had instead given rise to a single behemoth nightmare made flesh which was steadily making its' way towards the tracks that linked Vale and Vaccuo, destroying everything in its' path as it went. Ozpin had confided in Summer that he felt it was unlikely this was Salem's opening gambit in a more aggressive, open form of warfare but simply an effort to isolate and divide her foes whilst also admitting that the presence of a Grimm such as this in her arsenal was a threat that had to be dealt with.

And so Summer stood at the edge of a ravine, taking in the sight of her quarry and wishing despite herself that she was not alone.

"Why is it always the ones with too many heads?" she pouted, though her expression was hidden beneath the parting gift that Raven had given her; a sleek and bone white helmet which hid her face from view behind a featureless faceplate whose sharp angles managed to give it a stern and fearsome appearance.

The Grimm in question was huge, its' sheer size and the trail of destruction in its' wake allowing Summer to track it without complications; its' body several times the size of the average house and largely serpentine yet undeniably grotesque, with two tails comprised of thick cords of muscle and sinew intertwined around one another to create a large appendage whilst bone and chitinous armour grew between the two tails to fuse them. The tail gave way to a disturbingly humanoid upper torso where some bleak and hateful crimson glow shone from within its' hollowed and empty chest cavity formed of multiple layers of ribs and from those broad, skeletal shoulders several pairs of limbs grew; a pair of mismatched and flightless wings sprouting from its' back, the right feathered whilst the left was membranous like that of a bat and neither were capable of supporting the things' weight, a pair of unspeakably large arms were coated in a layer of thick, armoured scales whilst jagged shards of bone burst and jutted from them and the limbs ended in enormous taloned claws which the thing used to sink into the ground and drag itself forward whilst below them was a second, more humanoid pair of limbs that seemed atrophied and feeble as the clutched weakly to the monsters' body despite being larger than Summer herself. Most notable however was the feature that Summer herself had been drawn to, from the base of the Grimm's neck burst dozens upon dozens of serpentine forms that thrashed and snapped at one another with each neck ending in a horned and fanged draconian skull with a seemingly random number of eyes and variety of appearances given to each of them whilst every shrieking maw was capable of spewing jets of flames or dripping magma onto the ground beneath it.

This was Typhon.

"One shot at this" Summer murmured to herself as she produced her weapon from beneath the folds of her cape which proceeded to flap dramatically behind her in the breeze, worn despite the stifling heat she was forced to endure this close to Vaccuan territories; slowly and deliberately she brought Shatter-Moon to her eye in its' sniper rifle form and took careful aim whilst preparing a single, specially designed round that been the culmination of an offhanded comment from Raven, Tai's extensive understanding of the various combinations of Dust and their applications, Qrow's support and willingness to loot Beacon's Dust stores for old times' sake and Summer's own fanatical commitment to improvement, especially when said improvements promised to have results that could be described as cool.

She smiled beneath her mask as she fired.

The shot glowed as it ripped through the air, a flash of lightning that struck the beast whilst her weapons report echoed through the ravine like a thunderbolt. The round was filled with an experimental mixture of the Gravity Dust Qrow favoured for armour piercing, the explosive Fire Dust-based mixtures that Summer used for explosive effects and finally the rare, hard to manufacture and expensive Hard-Light Dust that Raven used simply to show off whenever it was available and the caped Huntress suppressed the urge to perform a happy little dance at the sight of the destruction she unleashed. A glowing shock-wave of semi-solid force rushed out from the point of impact, a cyan forcefield being used like a guillotine to cleave through Grimm-flesh without resistance until finally it flickered and faded from existence, its' energy spent. The round had struck Typhon in one of its' many skulls and at least twenty had been sheared away, along with its' right wing and a sizeable chunk of the flesh from its' right bicep whilst several ribs glowed with fiery light where they had been severed and broken.

Yet it was not enough

"OH CRAP!" Summer exclaimed to the herself, throwing herself aside with a burst of her Semblance and reforming just in time to see the jets of fire that Typhon's remaining heads had spewed in perfect unison reducing the place she had been stood to molten slag; from there Summer felt every nerve in her body be rattled by a thundering impact and her senses be assaulted again a moment later by the sound of tearing and shattering stone, her stomach plummeted and she knew what she would find the moment sheer peered over the edge of the ravine yet she was compelled to do so anyway, cold dread seeping into every fibre of her being as she witnessed the titanic Grimm beginning to drag itself upwards towards her and realised that there was only one tool at her disposal with any chance of success against such a foe.

Summer really wished she had her dorks with her to buy her a little more time.

"Okay" her voice wavered and the ground trembled beneath her yet she persevered, shifting Shatter-Moon into its' hammer mode and planting it into the cracked and desolate ground at her feet as she closed her eyes and focused; remembering every happy memory she could muster from the last four years of her life at Beacon in an effort to call forth the power of her Silver Eyes like never before.

The pure joy of Team STRQ's initiation.

Taiyang and Qrow twirling her around and passing her between them at the dance in their first year whilst Raven pretended too look disinterested even as the urge to laugh overwhelmed her.

The four of the standing victorious whilst the crowds at the Vytal Tournament cheered their names.

Taiyang's face as the twins retaliated against his pranks by using water balloons and their avian forms.

Combing Ravens hair and simply talking, getting to know the person beneath her hard exterior whilst they kept watch on a mission with Qrow and Taiyang sleeping beside them.

Being picked up and held by Qrow, both of them ignoring the heat in their cheeks.

Her eyes opened.

Whatever power she had before paled in comparison to this, Typhon, by far the largest Grimm she had ever encountered was brought to a halt immediately and its' dozens of remaining heads lets out pained and stunned shrieks and snarls only to come to an abrupt halt as purifying, blinding, searing white light washed over its' hideous form and left nothing but stone in its' wake; the wings of brilliant light that burst from Summer's eyes dwarfed the young woman herself, reaching high into the sky and far across the blasted ravine until finally fading away as the Silver Eyed Warrior reached her limit and dropped to a single knee with a series of ragged gasps escaping her.

"Oh my gosh" she finally breathed out as she forced herself back to her feet, ripping the mask Raven had given her away from her face both to see the petrified Typhon without filters and so that she could breathe more easily; her addled and exhausted mind quickly came to the conclusion that there was still work to be done however, the Grimm was only disabled and would, eventually free itself from its' current containment.

That could not be allowed.

"And Tai thought this was over the top" Summer chuckled as, with heaving and sagging shoulders she hefted her hammer; shifting her weight and preparing herself before pulling the hidden trigger in Shatter-Moons' shaft that activated the upgrades she had implemented in Atlas, Hard-Light Dust emitters installed around the outer edge of the hammers' head whirred and thrummed into life before finally producing a replica of the weapons' head at roughly fifteen times the size in a translucent and faintly flickering blue which weighed almost nothing at all despite being solid and with her helmet removed Summer's manic smile was plain to see.

Her mission ended with a single, mighty swing that cast Typhon back into the depths below where its' body promptly shattered.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qrow's mission felt far less heroic and noble than his partners'.

Raven and Taiyang were attending to the mission which Team STRQ had intended to be their first outing as newly qualified Hunters together and Summer was preparing to face down some enormous monster in the hellish and desolate badlands between Vale and Vaccuo, she had naturally told her partner what her mission entailed at the first opportunity of course and Qrow had been ready to insist upon accompanying her but had been simply unable as Ozpin had other plans for the former bandit which could not be ignored, namely the mission that had seen him boarding a ferry to Anima for the first time in several years.

His journey had taken almost a week, a long time for most to be beyond the safety of a settlements' walls yet nothing at all to Qrow and he had made his way towards his target far more quickly than one might have expected, his ability to fly combined with knowledge of several hidden and secret routes through the dense forests aiding his progress until he first reached the village of Higabana, stopping at the tavern he had once spent a summer working at and learning what had happened outside of the sphere of Mistral's influence in recent years before setting off towards his true destination; a series of partially completed protective walls enveloping several hectares of flattened land with the first signs of construction rising up beyond the walls to hint at what was to come.

This would be known as the settlement of Oniyuri and Qrow was here to protect it from the Branwen Tribe.

He had been disgusted and outright furious upon learning of his mission until Ozpin had explained the nature of the assignment to him as that of mercy mission and necessary evil that was required in order to save more lives. During his absence the Branwen Tribe had grown bolder and more dangerous, even more so than Raven had realised or reported and in recent months it seemed, from what little could be learned about them by outsiders that several elders of the tribe had taken ill and died leaving a new figurehead to come to the fore and upon hearing the name of the individual now serving as a figurehead to his people Qrow had understood.

Claret Branwen.

The two of them were not related by blood, not directly at least; they simply shared their name through tribal affiliation yet Qrow knew of the woman. An imposing and commanding figure whose charisma naturally drew others towards her; dangerously violent and determined and a true exemplar of everything that the tribe held in esteem whilst also being notably more forward thinking, harbouring ideas that had been dismissed by the Elders time and time again such as stealing the Kingdoms' flying machines or proposing alliances with the other remaining tribes and Mistrali criminals so that they could strike larger settlements like a pack of wolves. Qrow realised the significance of her rise to power though Ozpin had still confirmed his fears in painful detail; several smaller villages had already been destroyed by the Branwen Tribe in a remarkably short period of time in attacks that displayed tactics and weaponry beyond what they had previously used, there was undeniable proof that envoys had been sent to the few remaining tribes such as the Nikosi and this, combined with the urgent insistence from the wealthy investors responsible for the creation of Oniyuri had led to action being taken. Mistral had placed bounties on the bandits and several eager Hunters had set out into the tribes' lands in search of Lien and infamy only for none of them to be seen again, whatever lessons Raven had passed onto the tribe whenever she returned to them had clearly yielded results despite his sisters' best efforts to lead them astray and now things had escalated, with the relatively young and inexperienced headmaster of Shade Academy, one Leo Lionheart contacting Ozpin and informing him that the Kingdom of Mistral intended what could only be called a genocide, something that the Faunus could not countenance but lacked the courage to directly oppose. Ozpin's response had been a simple but effective one, Claret Branwen now represented the sole source of leadership amongst the Branwen Tribe after seemingly silencing dissent in predictably brutal fashion and Qrow had been deployed to draw her out and apprehend her in a move that would, hopefully lead to enough infighting and jockeying for power to disrupt their increasingly violent raids and have the Kingdoms' attention turned elsewhere.

The tribe would be broken and scattered to the winds but it would survive.

Qrow had accepted, feeling sick to his stomach but had accepted regardless upon realising that the only other alternative would be to send Raven instead and, owing to the fact that she still had standing within the tribe her victory would only complicate matters further as it would give her a claim and arguably a duty to lead their people from that point forward and now he sat perched on the rain-soaked wooden beams of what would one day become a town square whilst wind howled and lightning flashed above him, the beady crimson eyes of his avian form scanning the perimeter for any sign of his quarry until finally he saw movement in the trees some distance away.

Claret may have been a ruthless warrior and leader, but she was also prideful and bound by custom; meaning that she had been easy to lure out with a simple written challenge delivered to the Branwen camp.

Four figures emerged from the treeline, a trio of warriors his own age and perhaps a little older clad in mismatched clothing that had hastily been dyed a deep arterial red and worn with piecemeal and scavenged armour, though their weapons were pristine whom Qrow quickly dismissed in favour of the woman striding out ahead of them.

Claret Branwen was a tall and striking, easily matching Qrow in height whilst being broader across the shoulders, her alabaster skin marred with criss-crossing scars that only served to make her appear more fearsome and her jet black, glossy hair had begun to show the first traces of snowy white and was worn in braids that were tied back and reached between her shoulder blades whilst the sides had been sheared short. She wore black pants and a heavy, durable pair of boots along with a black vest that showed off incredibly well muscled arms whilst over the vest was a chest plate made, thick, reliable armour that had clearly been reworked to fit her; from the pristine white that was visible where the red paint had not taken Qrow could only assume that the armour had been taken from some unfortunate scion of the Arc family whilst the gorget which reached up to protect her neck seemed to have been added later, the lower half of her face was covered by a sleek, curved mask that evoked the skull of some carrion bird whilst ghostly grey eyes peered over the rim of the armoured faceplate, intent and merciless as they roved their surroundings until finally Claret reached over her back and produced her weapons, a pair of single bladed axes whose blades had been styled to resemble feathered wings.

"HUNTER!" her voice was a war-cry that made the air itself tremble "SHOW YOURSELF AND DIE HONOURABLY!"

Qrow struck without warning.

The three fighters covering her rear hit the ground unconscious as Qrow swooped around them, not revealing himself or his true identity until the last possible second before he collided with them, the flat of Harbinger's blade crashing against skulls as it moved invisibly fast until the former bandit caught a flash of movement in the trees; a moment later Harbinger was in its' ranged form and a pair of Hard-Light Dust shells had been fired, exploding outwards and shearing through trunks and branches to leave the sniper who had attempted to gun him down yelling in surprise and unable to escape as the tree they had perched in collapsed. Then his attention turned to his true quarry and Harbinger was suddenly in its' sword form as Qrow and Claret circled one another.

"Little misery" the older raider sneered mockingly as she addressed him by one of the many pejorative names that he'd been given in his adolescence "Raven's whimpering shadow….Does your sister know you're here?"

"No" Qrow answered simply, Raven knew he had a solo mission but he hadn't given her the specifics yet; though Claret and any remaining followers she may have could interpret that any way they chose, preferably in a way that left his sister in good standing with their people.

"We knew that you'd betrayed us Qrow from the moment we saw that you were alive and still at Beacon, we knew that you'd chosen to become a Hunter as if they could ever really accept what you are but even knowing that the elders showed mercy and never ordered Raven to kill you for deserting us" Claret shook her head and let out a derisive snort "I would have ordered it"

And then they lunged.

The air was filled with the sound of metal screeching against metal and sparks flew as their blades met for several lightning fast exchanges until Claret unleashed a flurry of attacks intended to tear her enemies' skull from their body, each of them the product of years of experience; a savage overhand blow with both blades, then a spinning backhand from her left which tore outwards in a wide arc followed by a right slash and then finally flipping one of her axes in her hand and using both weapons in tandem to chop of Qrow's neck in a pincer motion yet each and every blow failed to land, misfortune striking again and again until finally the head of the weapon in her left hand came loose unexpectedly, sailing through the air to strike one of the tribal warriors who was struggling to rise and throwing Claret off balance. Seizing the opening Qrow retaliated without hesitation, the pommel of Harbinger smashed into the inside of Claret's wrist as she attacked again; tearing a pained snarl from her lips and the weapon from her grasp before he stepped into her grasp and delivered a punch with all the Aura fuelled strength he could muster which left indentations in the shape of his rings in her faceplate. Claret unleashed a blindingly fast haymaker that sent Qrow staggering, unrelenting yet without her weapon clearly outmatched; Qrow leapt back to create some space and his adversary gave chase only for his Semblance and cunning to work in tandem as he shifted Harbinger into its' scythe form, the blade of the weapon shooting forwards and the haft extended outwards and striking Claret's ankles with enough force to send her toppling to the ground; her Aura rippled for a moment but held steady though it made little difference as before she could rise Qrow had transformed his weapon into its' shotgun form and used an Ice Dust shell to leave her legs frozen to the ground from below the knees

"Oh I will have your head for this!" she roared as she prepared to shatter the ice with a single blow "I WILL-"

She fell silent as Qrow's weapon smashed into the base of her skull and simply lolled forwards, conscious but left reeling and blinded by the pain.

"You're under arrest and will be delivered into the custody of the Kingdom of Mistral" Qrow informed her bluntly as he produced a pair of Aura inhibiting handcuffs and locked them firmly around her wrists, silently thanking the Atlesians for their ingenuity as without such devices there would have been little, if any chance of ending this conflict without deaths

"So this is what you've become is it?" Claret demanded, the first hints of defeat creeping into her voice "There are no excuses you can offer, but tell me Qrow….why? What could possibly have done that warranted this?"

Qrow simply stared at her in abject shock, almost dismayed enough to lower his weapon and for several painfully long seconds he considered explaining that his actions would likely see the Branwen Tribe scattered to the winds but would also save them from a more bloody end at the hands of Mistrals' own Hunters, that this could be considered an act of mercy on par with any life saved by Raven's portals; he gave even more serious consideration to giving a genuine answer to her question, to forcing her to look into his eyes whilst he recounted every time that he had ignored, cursed for existence or sent out to fight with no expectation that he would return until finally his disappearance had gone unquestioned because none of his tribe cared enough to ask. Finally he shook his head and forced his emotions under control

"You really need to be told?"

"We gave you food and shelter when your parents perished, we gave you weapons and armour and taught you to fight even when your curse put us all in danger" Claret spat "The weak die, you were a weakness to us all and we kept you….Because we were family"

"No we weren't" Qrow shook his head sadly, finally allowing some of the maelstrom of grief and anger that this conversation was stirring display on his face as he let out a bitter laugh

"We were never family….and the sad part is that I can't even bring myself to hate you for it" a weak smile crossed his face as he leaned down and forced Claret to meet his gaze "Team STRQ are my family and I will never abandon them the way you abandoned me"

With that he delivered a blow that left her unconscious and prepared to contact Ozpin so that he could return home, to people that mattered to him.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taiyang and Raven had been left with the task of undertaking the mission that Team STRQ had initially been planning on tackling as a team, which had brought the two of them to Summer's island home of Patch.

As tempting as venturing out into the great unknown and tackling the kind of monsters described in fairy-tales or discussed in hushed tones in dimly lit bars by men with thousand yard stares was Team STRQ had been forced to admit that it was simply not feasible for their first mission out of the Academy as despite their exemplary training records and the relatively small amount of fame they had acquired they were still inexperienced and they lacked the funding to necessities such as their own transport even if they had managed to secure such jobs, a prospect that seemed unlikely to them as they had in all honesty only expected to leave Beacon with a Class C licence rather than the much more impressive Class A that they had earned. Because of this Summer had spent the final months of their time as students perusing listings for smaller, more local missions and bounties, persuading her friends that their careers as Hunters could and should involve helping the everyday person and opposing the smaller and more common Creatures of Grimm in Salem's forces and to that end she had managed to secure the contract with a logging company whose employees would be at risk in the woods.

"Four years of studying for a mission I could have handled alone when I was fourteen" Raven griped as she emerged from a portal behind Taiyang and impaled a Beowolf that leapt at her in a single, mockingly dismissive move that saw her blade bursting from the back of its' neck

"Yeah but would you have enjoyed it as much?" her partner countered as he delivered a devastating punch to the snout of another Beowolf, the Ice Dust crystals fitted into the Long Rex causing the beasts' skull to freeze and shatter on impact.

"Hmm, how do I weigh how nice you are to look at against your puns?" Raven mused with a smirk, she and Taiyang chatting and bantering as though they were not stood in the midst of a tide of claws and fangs eager to tear them limb from limb. The two had made their initial sweeps of the area over the first few days, ranging out ahead of where the logging company intended to operate as they took Summer's warning that the woodlands on Patch were truly infested with horrors and had subsequently allowed the lumberjacks, surveyors and other employees of the logging company along with their various vehicles and machines to follow them, a sizeable inroad had been made along with an open clearing in which the two of them were now stood but it soon became apparent that the pair had underestimated Summer's warning; as the sun began to set the workers had been told to hide and take cover as the first of a pack of monsters that numbered in the hundreds began to surround them.

"So" Taiyang began conversationally "Are we gonna keep dealing with these things a few at a time?"

"And spend all night here?" Raven snorted "For what this contract is paying?"

"There's worse places we could camp out together" Taiyang noted as he drove his knee into the gut of a Grimm that had pounced towards him, hoisting it overhead and hurling towards Raven who neatly bisected it

"Don't tell me you think this is romantic?" Raven laughed, using her avian form to avoid an oncoming Beowolf which Taiyang promptly pulverised with a crushing blow to the chest

"I mean it's not a date but it's still fun" he shrugged "Besides, the Lien isn't great but the benefits are decent"

"Benefits?" Raven asked, genuinely curious as she had admittedly left the legal and bureaucratic aspects of obtaining this mission to her team-mates

"It's a surprise" Taiyang whispered theatrically as he seized to Beowolves by the necks and crushed their skulls together, winking at her as he did so "But if you want to wrap this up?"

"It would be wise….Before one of the Grimm decides to attack your bike" Taiyang's eyes widened at that, the motorbike he had bought as a First Year student was indeed in the clearing with them, currently parked outside of a small, portable cabin that was serving as a base of operations and more importantly as a shelter for the loggers.

"Okay yeah that's a wheelie good idea" Raven's dramatic groan at the pun morphed into an accusatory caw midway as she took to the skies in her bird form with a flash of Aura, Taiyang merely grinned and rushed into position for what he knew would come next; no plans had been made verbally but they had done this before after all.

Reloading the brackets of his gauntlets with fresh Ice Dust he sprinted towards one end of the clearing they fought in, smashing his fists into the ground and creating a pathway of sheet ice to slide across and bring himself to his destination even faster before springing to his feet at the mouth of the clearing; hundreds of Beowolves snarling, howling and snapping as they came thundering towards him him in a single rushing wave of manifest darkness as he simply smiled and once again reloaded, this time filling his weapons with Hard-Light Dust and, as the first of the Grimm drew near enough to leap at him the brawny blonde revealed his ploy and dropped into a crouch, activating the Dust at his disposal to create an impassible shield not unlike the forcefields used by Atlas.

And then Raven attacked.

A portal opened directly in front of Taiyang's shield and through the translucent barrier he could see her, perched high in the trees with the sheath of Omen at the ready, the moment the first Grimm clattered against his shield she opened fire, unleashing dozens upon dozens of blades made from solid Dust from her weapon through the portal and into the shield which they promptly ricocheted and tore through the densely crowded monsters in bursts of flames and lightning until the clearing was filled with the darkness as their bodies were shredded and begin to fade into wisps of smoke.

"All clear?" Taiyang called out, receiving an answer in the form of Raven herself stepped through her portal just as his shield finally flickered and gave way

"Now, about that surprise?" she chuckled as she pulled him to his feet

"I mean you're gonna be the first to know about it but it's for all of us" he told her cryptically "But you're gonna love it, trust me"

"You are insufferable" Raven answered, resting her hands on her hips only to give in to gentle laughter a moment later "I hope that attack punctured your tires"

"How could you?" Tai gasped in faux horror which only made her laugh all the louder until he pulled her into a hug to which she responded by kissing him briefly before nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck; such open displays of affection had become increasingly common as their relationship progressed but Raven never failed to catch herself off-guard and often found herself using Taiyang's neck and shoulder to hide her own red face.

"You were right" she mused, voice muffled somewhat by her position "Not a date, but definitely nice" Taiyang simply smiled at that and held her close until the workers they had protected were brave enough to venture out of their shelter and declare that work was over for the evening.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were finally going to be reunited.

That had been the primary, driving force pushing Qrow's thoughts and actions as he had once again crossed Anima and returned to a port city from which he had boarded a ferry that would take him to Patch where Team STRQ would be gathering; the somewhat dubious nature of his mission and Ozpin's hand in it had rendered it a fairly well paying ordeal though not so well paying that he could afford the luxury of an airship across the sea and so his return would take longer than he might have liked.

The voyage home had been pleasant and largely uneventful with Qrow shooting down a Nevermore whose shadow passed over the open deck of the ship and from there striking up conversations with the Hunters officially protecting the passengers, exchanging contact details with them and forming the beginnings of the kind of network of reliable contacts all across Remnant that all the most capable Hunters seemed to have whilst his evenings had been largely spent in his cabin, ignoring the siren call of the ships' bar and instead spending hours on the Scroll with his team-mates; talking to Raven and Taiyang whenever work and their own relationship wasn't leaving them preoccupied and talking to Summer at length almost every day of his journey, the two of them falling asleep to the sound of one another's voice on more than one occasion and Qrow's spirits rising immensely upon being informed that the two of them would likely reach Patch on the same day.

She had kissed him at the docks.

It had been a simple, brief and outwardly inconsequential peck on the cheek that no one beyond the two of them had paid any mind to, yet to Qrow who had waited at the docks for hours after his own arrival it had meant the world, he and Summer were often physically affectionate with one another and the gesture simply felt like home; leaving him touching his cheek absently and smiling to himself as he trailed behind his partner long after he had pulled her into a crushing hug and lifted her off of the ground, loudly and jokingly exclaiming that he had his 'Cape-Buddy' back.

"Come on! How can you have such long legs and be so slow?" Summer laughed from several paces ahead of him, whirling around and offering a hand for him to take, which he readily did as he ran his free hand through his hair in a familiar gesture and offered a retort

"It'd help if I knew where we were going, this isn't the way we usually get to the Grimm-Woods is it?"

"Nope" Summer confirmed, popping the P happily as she continued to lead him onwards

"Where are you taking me, I thought the part of my life where I could be led out into the woods and dealt with was over" Qrow laughed darkly, halting only when Summer whirled around again and gave him a look of abject horror; it had been meant as a bleak and self deprecating joke but he had told her about his mission and she hastily gave an answer before he could assure her that things were fine

"I don't know exactly, Tai said to meet him out here; he said there's a clearing and that he's got a surprise" with that they fell silent, the two giving each others' hands a reassuring squeeze as they continued off of the beaten path and found themselves approaching the Grimm-Woods where they had often trained together and hunted down nightmares made flesh during the summers, venturing along a freshly made dirt track the two of them scanned the notably thinned trees for any sign of movement with Qrow being the one to voice a though that had occurred to them both

"This looks a lot like they were making new roads"

"I mean they had to get equipment in and-WHAT ON REMNANT?" Summer clearly saw something and frantically broke off, using her Semblance in rapid bursts and Qrow needed only a moment to spot where she was reforming before he gave chase in his bird form with the two of them coming to a halt in a small clearing where the two of them quickly realised what the surprise Taiyang had in mind for them was as he and Raven greeted them with wide smiles, Raven setting down several timber beams she was carrying and giving her brother a loose hug as greeting

"So, it's gonna take a while to finish but it's gonna be awesome when it is right?" he beamed, a contagious smile that reached from ear to ear as she splayed his arms wide and gestured to what was being constructed around him.

The beginnings of a house

"How, what?….Tai how the heck can you afford this?" Summer gasped

"I uh, my parents helped pay for the land we're building on" he admitted "And Raven and I ended up pulling a bunch of overtime….And the land itself was really cheap 'cos y'know, we're on the edge of the Grimm-Woods and it's closer than most people want to be to danger even when the rest of the trees between here and the main road come down….And we're building the house ourselves so there's that"

"So you're making yourselves a home?" Qrow murmured, beyond happy for his sister and her partner only to be floored by what came next

"No….This is for all of us" Tai told him "This is Team STRQ's home….I mean if you two want it-"

"I'm concerned by the fact that the Kingdoms have a fable involving a house made of wood and a wolf that blows it down, especially considering what kind of Grimm live in these woods" Raven noted dryly, only for a smile as wide as Tai's to cross her face

"I love it" Qrow choked out, swallowing a sudden lump in his throat and an instant later the four of them were pulled closer together, Summer reaching out with her Semblance to drag each of her friends into another of her famously powerful crushing hugs

"This is so awesome, we're gonna have our own place and it's gonna be like the Beacon dorms but better, we can get a ferry to the mainland or anywhere else for missions, we can show all the kids at Signal what real Hunters look like and how cool it is….My Grandma is close by-"

"Hey Raven you know we've got another fable in the Kingdoms about wolves right, one that involves grandmas-"

"Shut up Tai!" Qrow leant his voice to Summer and Raven's as they both elbowed him playfully in the ribs and a moment later Summer had leapt at her partner again, an outburst of pure happiness that could not and would not be contained and it was all Qrow could do to not weep with joy as the four of them laughed together until Taiyang unfurled the blueprints for the house he planned to build.

This was home, this was his family and there was nothing; no misfortune or tragedy that could take it away from him.  
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Author's Notes:

So, this is that day seven story that I was originally gonna skip because I couldn't figure out what angle to tackle the graduation from and it turns out that the answer was "Start with the graduation and then go from there"  
And here we are at the end of STRQ week.  
As things stand (I'm writing this on December 12th) RWBY Vol.8 Episode 06 has just aired for First Viewers, there's one more episode before the hiatus and my next plans for a RWBY story won't come to fruition for a couple months yet though if any new ideas strike me they might be moved up the list of priorities.  
My next RWBY story will likely be OC based and be the fifth part of the "Spiral-Verse" series.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
The urge to put a 'Keep Moving Forward' there was almost overwhelming but I don't want to cheapen it with overuse.  
That description of the final year goes out to any students I have reading this over the Christmas break; I have every faith in you, you've got this.  
I love the idea of Poly STRQ but I don't have the experience with poly-relationships to write it in a way that I'd be happy putting out into the world, that being said writing this has made me ship Summer and Qrow more than I did before; although I don't subscribe to the Qrow is Ruby's father theory.  
The thing about the language is just me giving the tribe more identity and culture than what it had in canon and I feel like it fits what we know of Raven….Also, Taiyang's tat/emblem is something Raven made for him, enjoy those feels.  
License classes are a thing, look at the one Team RWBY and JN_R got in canon.  
Digital licenses and callbacks to the Vol.3 jokes about Qrow losing his Scroll.  
You don't split the party, everyone knows that.  
'Coolest Team to ever graduate Beacon'  
I haven't actually read the novels yet so I don't know how old Theo is and that's why I didn't name Shade's Headmaster, I don't know if it's reasonable to assume that he would still have been Headmaster when Team STRQ and Glynda were students.  
Yes mega-fauna, because there are giant crabs on Vytal (And on you mum….Sorry I had to) unless I'm mistaken?  
Outside of the Kingdoms some parts of Remnant probably look straight up post apocalyptic with everything that's happened.  
Not every giant Grimm is one of Salem's big special moves but at the same time Ozpin appreciates her ability to play the long game and wants the big nasty off the table before it can cut Vaccuo off completely.  
Yes, the helmet Summer was wearing is Raven's helmet just without the red Grimm markings; that's what Raven made for her….I'll leave you to come up with your own horrible, heartbreaking stories about how Raven got it back.  
I actually made the Grimm Typhon from Greek mythology just because I heard a theory that the Grimm river heading towards Atlas would actually spawn something similar and that it would work thematically.  
Yes I abused the shit out of Hard-Light Dust in this chapter but let's be honest, the twins definitely stocked up everything they could steal before they left Beacon.  
The scene with Summer's Silver Eyes was obviously based on Ruby in Vol.6 and I hope I managed to hit at least some of you in the feels.  
Summer's Hard-Light hammer is….I'm a little ashamed to admit this, kinda inspired by the Dynamax Pokeball in Sword & Shield.  
I really do feel like a decent chunk of Qrow's career has been doing Ozpin's dirty work and it's for a good cause but he probably does get the messy jobs.  
Had to shout-out Higabana again before moving onto Oniyuri, which at this point is still an idea that's going ahead.  
And so Qrow's mission out of Beacon is to face his past….He cannot catch a break at all.  
Look at Claret's tactics and tell me that doesn't sound more like the Branwen Tribe we saw in Vol.5.  
"The Nikosi" is a nod to some of my other stories.  
So Leo was a coward and he was a Faunus in a racist Kingdom which limited his options, I haven't got around to watching the Grimm campaign but from what I understand it was shown that Leo had very little clout politically in Mistral and no real friends on the council; I don't think open genocide is honestly out of the question for Mistral and I do think Leo, at least at some point would have intervened in any way he could indirectly.  
Ozpin's plan was to break the tribe into smaller factions so that Mistral wouldn't wipe them out, Qrow agreed because the only other option on the table was installing Raven as a leader, but I wanted to write it in a way where it felt obvious that these are also the events that led to Raven taking over the Tribe, or at least one of its' factions on her own terms in the future.  
Claret isn't directly related to the twins but is probably a distant cousin so I gave her some similar traits and similar aesthetic cues….Also, the Arcs are a big family full of heroes; I think it's safe to say a couple of them have died on the job and I've always had the headcanon that the Arc family have a distinct style, so yeah that's why she had stolen Arc armour.  
Die honourably….Whilst also having a sniper hidden just out of view.  
I think I made myself hate Claret with just a few lines of dialogue.  
Fighting Qrow is just invoking Murphy's Law, as the guy who got hit in the head with an axehead found out.  
"What could possibly have done that warranted this?" because no abuser ever admits it do they?  
Team STRQ were planning on a small start to their careers and working up and you have no idea how tempted I was to ham-fist something about victory being in a simple soul in there.  
Raven does have a point though, they are basically doing the Red Trailer on multiplayer.  
Tai and Raven's banter was fun to write.  
Look at the way that they were both stepping into oncoming Grimm for each other, then look at that final attack; Tai drew the Grimm's attention and Raven used her weapons as an area of effect attack to save him taking damage and powering up his Semblance…."We're protecting each other" moment.  
We saw Qrow's contacts in Vol.5 he has contacts all over Anima.  
I really can't help myself with the Qrow and Summer stuff, I really can't.  
The joke about being left in the woods in on brand for Qrow but considering where he just came back from Summer was probably right to double take.  
A clearing in the woods on Patch, part of those woods were being cut down, I hope some of you guessed where this was going….That's the Xiao Long/Rose family home that's being built.  
The three little pigs reference occurred to me as I was writing because I realised how mental a wooden house near Grimm filled woods actually is and the Little Red Riding Hood one was only natural after that….Poor Nana Rose.  
And yeah, that last line was just me twisting the knife.

Thank you to MajorBrony95 and SumoSnipe for their review on the last chapter.  
Kvitravn is actually from the upcoming album, I think it's most recent release...Kvitravn is also the stage name Einar Selvig (The male singer) used when he was the Drummer for a band called Golgotha.  
If you liked that try "Kvervandi" by Einar Selvig and Ivar Bjornson.  
I mean Ironwood's Semblance literally allows him to plough through everything...Also I liked the imagery of him losing the hand first because it's reminiscent of Anakin Skywalker losing his hand first years before the rest of his body was encased in the Darth Vader suit.  
See the comparison I always draw is that Atlas wants its' Hunters to be like the Rangers in that Will/Jaden Smith film After Earth.  
No that was not the conception of Yang, remember that Chapter 06 was set in third year; meaning they still had a year at the Academy.  
Of course it was Qrow….But also, to turn Tai's words against he "He should've thanked me" it all worked out.  
Besides, Qrow hasn't forgotten the skirt even if he did beat Tai with a sock full of snooker balls for it already.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review


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